Impact
by IdeasandDreams
Summary: A story of WayHaught in the 100 universe
1. Chapter 1

Nicole walks down the well lit corridor, almost bouncing as she takes a swift right. She's clutching a tray as though it's the most important item in the world. It is laden with food, a full days worth. It doesn't look that exciting but she's only been a guard six months so getting placed on this special assignment was huge.

Reaching her destination she slows, placing the tray carefully on the floor before turning back towards the door. It's just like all the other doors in this area but she hesitates, touching the weapon attached to the side of her belt. Something feels different to her but she stretches her arm out towards the door anyway.

 _He said she wasn't dangerous._

Nicole mulls over what she knows while her hand hovers in the air.

 _I wonder what she looks like._

Her free hand sweeps a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Air rushes furiously out of her mouth as she gives a slight shake of her head. One deep breath later she's finishing her task. The door opens, noisily welcoming her before her eyes widen and swing over walls covered in writing, tiny letters neatly packed on to every available surface. The floor is just as jammed - overflowing piles of paper and cardboard both scraps and large pieces, all chock full of words. The bed is relatively free of material but that seemed to be the only clear space as Nicole continued to scan the room.

"Give me one minute."

A distracted voice floats out from behind a table laden with several piles of books. Underneath she can see most of a pair of bare legs jutting out, crossed at the sockless ankles.

Nicole breaks out of her stupor, closing her mouth which seems to have dropped open of it's own accord, only for it it open again and have "Y...yeah sure ok." stumble out. She turns lifting a hand to her lips as if to stop it acting without her consent again. When she's regained her composure she picks up the tray. Obstacles stand in her path but she navigates them successfully and finds a spot between stacks for the tray. It's a tight fit but she makes it work. There's been no more chatter from the six legged table although she can hear a faint scratching noise over the usual background hum. Nicole takes a few careful steps around the heaps, approaching the table from behind. A slight figure with long brown hair is hunched over in her chair, a tiny nub of a pencil clasped in a rapidly moving hand.

"I didn't know that you'd be a writer."

Books spill onto the floor as the woman jumps to her feet and knocks into into the table. Her hands flying outwards hitting in to more books. Now that she is standing up Nicole could see that she is wearing a pair of shorts and a cropped top.

 _Waverly Earp. An orphan. In prison for the past 18 months._

"Perfect." the woman of her thoughts exclaims sarcastically, back still facing Nicole.

"Sorry I thought you knew I was here. I did..." she's interrupted by Waverly who protests, " No, no it's not your fault, I just space out when I'm writing. I forgot all about everything else. And surprise, surprise, I don't get that many visitors here."

Waverly turns around in the middle of her speech with a happy but slightly apologetic expression. The facts that had been passed onto Nicole by the powers that be did not give her any indication of Waverly's character or how attractive she was. "I babble on sometimes, don't mind me. Just tell me I'm doing it and I'll stop." Waverly says as her cheeks darkened.

Nicole is thrown off by the bubbly yet meek demeanour but recovers, smile creeping onto her face as she says "I'm Nicole, Nicole Haught."

"Hi."

"You must be Waverly Earp." Waverly reaches out and grasps her hand and Nicole wishes that she had thought to take off her gloves before entering the room. She can feel the other's woman's warmth through the material anyway.

"Yes. I uh...welcome to my humble abode." Waverly finally lets go of Nicole's hand to spread her arms out. "It's a little messy right now. I would have cleaned up, I just wasn't expecting anyone. The guard usually leaves the food by the door."

Nicole looks around again at the room that's decorated with information and says, "No I like it. It makes a change from the rooms here. They're so...sterile." She ducks her head, not meaning to talk so honestly. When she hears the warmth in Waverly's words, she brings it back up.

"I'm glad you think so." Waverly says eyes twinkling at Nicole. "But maybe you could help me clean up the latest mess I've made."

Nicole returns Waverly's smile with a confident "Sure" taking off her gloves to make it easier to handle the materials. She wants to ask how Waverly got a hold of all the books but doesn't knowing it will lead to a lot more questions.

 _It's better not to go down that path._

Once Nicole's finished restacking the books and paper on the table, she picks up the tray of food and holds it out to Waverly who's reorganising the her piles of paper. "Here's your meal. Nothing special unfortunately" she says sympathetically.

"Maybe you could have a word with the chef?" Waverly jokes. Nicole grins and replies "I'll try but I can't promise anything."

Reluctantly she puts her gloves back on knowing that she can't hang around too long. Only a select few know of her assignment and she had to swear to let no one else find out . When she looks back up, she reckons Waverly's smile has dimmed a little. It compels her to ask, "Same time tomorrow?" She doesn't have to be nice, she's a guard and Waverly is technically the prisoner. Her superior hadn't explained what crime had been committed, had only said that the situation was complicated. Her orders are not to treat Waverly like a prisoner, but like a patient in sick bay.

"I suppose I can fit you into my busy schedule." Waverly's reply has Nicole flashing her a cocky grin before walking out of the room with a swagger that wasn't there on the way in.


	2. Chapter 2

She's taken a shine to her since that first day. The weeks passed by and she'd only grown fonder of their chats and the woman she had them with.

"Somewhere to be?" Carl nudges her shoulder. "Or maybe you've someone to see?" He laughs, shoulders bobbing.

"You're too funny" she says sarcastically. "I've a check up in medical but it won't take long." She had made the mistake of checking the time more than once in front of a few guards and now they all tease her about it. She's learnt to be much more conspicuous.

 _Most days._

"Suuuure" he says his eyes bright.

"Try not to do anything stupid while I'm gone" she shoots back at him as she walks off, her boots clunking off the metal floor.

As she gets closer to Waverly's room she wonders if she's crossing a line. Being friendly with a prisoner didn't sound like something she should be doing. Not if she wants to do well at her job.

 _But on the other hand, Waverly is...well Waverly. Probably the nicest person in the entire place. She's hands down the most enchanting one too._

She may have developed the smallest crush on Waverly over the past few weeks. She's fairly sure it's unrequited, although her flirting has been returned and she's managed to turn Waverly's cheeks red on numerous occasions.  
She won't let it go any further than it has already, it wouldn't be right. She doesn't want to abuse her position and it's not fair to Waverly. But it's getting harder to separate her feelings from her job.

She knocks at the door, pausing before she hears "Come on in." She couldn't help but linger every time she brought her food. Those five or ten minutes seem more substantial than anything else during her unvarying daily routine. She knew Waverly appreciated their moments too.

 _It must get awful lonely in this room._

There's a little maze between the stacks, space enough now for a person to walk easily through. A second chair had been rustled up from who knows where so she doesn't have to stand or perch unsteadily on one of the heaps of paper.  
Usually Waverly would need to finish off whatever she was working on before she could give Nicole her attention. Nicole had no problem with that, it's peaceful sitting and watching Waverly in full concentration mode. Eyebrows in a focused furrow, tongue pushing into her cheek, arms huddled around her work scribbling intensely. She'd explain it to Nicole afterwards who nodded along until she finished. Often Nicole would then admit to not understanding much of what Waverly was talking about. Sometimes she would translate it to be more understandable and other times she'd smile and say "Never mind" knowing it'll take up to much of their brief time together.

On the odd visit Waverly had opened up to her. Once they talked about their childhoods and Nicole got a glimpse into her past. It showed an early love of reading and learning. Waverly's mother had seemed a protective yet distant woman and her father went without mention.

Waverly finds a good place to stop in her work on agriculture and hydroponics and starts describing it animatedly. Even though she fights it, Nicole's eyes keep straying to stare at Waverly's lips. Many failed attempts later she tries a different tactic interrupting Waverly with the first question that pops into her head.

"Why are you in here? "

 _For fucks sake._

"Shit I didn't mean to say it just like that. You just don't seem a violent or deceitful type."

Waverly says nothing and the silence has Nicole jumping to her feet. Hands center in on her own belt buckle and hold it tight before saying softly, "Look you don't have to answer. It's none of my business, I shouldn't have asked."

She's been exceedingly curious about why Waverly's locked up since the beginning, but hadn't asked any questions about it. She figured that Waverly would tell her when she wanted her to know.

 _Being around Waverly makes everything upredictable including me._

Waverly stands and looks at her for a moment, searching for something deep within her eyes. "The rules are archaic. There's a lot of people in here that don't deserve to be. I'm here because it's the only way to keep me safe."  
Nicole can only reply "I don't follow..."

Waverly asks "Can I trust you?"

An even more confused Nicole replies "...Yes."

"I hate this room. I hate the colour of it, the size, the shape, the materials it's made out of, everything about it really...I resent the fact that it has no window even though I didn't have one in my old room. The absolute worse thing about it is that I shouldn't be here in the first place. I didn't commit a crime...it was just an excuse to put me here."

Waverly has stopped speaking, her gaze on her own hand that's pulling at the corner of a sheet of well used paper. Knowing there's more to her answer, Nicole patiently waits for her to continue.

Spirited eyes dart upwards again. "I still can't leave because there is...there's someone who wants me dead. It's someone with a lot of power and I've no hard evidence. Prison was the only place Jaha could hide me."

"That's a lot to take in." Nicole's stalling, contemplating the truth of it.

Waverly nods before saying "I know it sounds a bit unbelievable and I can't show you any hard evidence. Jaha must have told you something about why I'm not treated like the other prisoners - why I'm apart from them, why I have access to all these books..." Waverly's hands gesture at the piles on the table beside them.

"I wish it wasn't all true, I really do. I wish I could have been like anyone else on this damn ship, but I'm not." Waverly's fists clench and there's nothing but raw emotion in her face. Nicole's gut rears up and she takes Waverly's hands into her own, gently brushing her thumbs along Waverly's knuckles.

"I believe you."

"Do you know how good that is to hear?" Waverly blurts out before surprising her, wrapping her arms around her. She chatters away about Jaha being awful to chat to about anything that didn't revolve around the ship and occupants' survival. Nicole finds she can't breath, pressed against each other this way, Waverly's scent overpowering her nostrils, her stomach flipping.

 _Shit._

Waverly drew back and the air filled Nicole's lungs again.

 _This is so not good._


	3. Chapter 3

He knew it was a lot to trust in someone so young but he had thought it an advantage. Nicole's trips to this part of the ship are less likely to be noticed. The mere months in the age difference meant Waverly could talk to someone with whom she might have something in common. There were multiple reasons he had chosen Nicole. Written reviews had described her good character and her versatile skills. Test scores were high and she had performed well under pressure. Her father had been a well-respected trustworthy sergeant in the guard until he had gotten sick. She had seemed like a great idea until today.

 _Today she has become problematic._

"Come on, Chancellor you're using her. She hasn't even committed a crime!"

His eyes sharpen at her audacity and he utters tersely, "She told you."

He shouldn't be surprised that they have become this friendly, that Waverly could cause the usually obedient Nicole to question her superior, to risk a backlash.

He watches her chin jut out stubbornly.

"Yes."

He asks "The whole story?"

A slightly crestfallen expression claims Nicole's face.

"No."

He thinks quickly over his options. He decides to appeal to Nicole's interest in Waverly's well-being.

"Waverly has an important purpose on this ship - her research is key to our survival. I am not using her, she has been quite happy to help out. I am doing everything I can for her but it's an extremely precarious and dangerous situation."

He pauses to find the right words.

"It is not up to me to tell you her story, but in time she may tell you herself."

It's all superficial truths but he hopes that is enough to stop her enquiries.

"What are you doing to help her?"

 _Alas she continues._

He attempts to fob her off with a vague threat.

"You already know I have kept her safe. The more you know, the more likely that you will also be in danger."

It doesn't work.

"I think I can handle it. Besides I'm already a part of it."

 _Sigh._

Her determination and loyalty which had originally seemed advantageous is now working against him. He resigns himself to the fact he will have to tell her some part of the puzzle, but on the other hand he can't have her barging in on him every time she has a conflict of interest.

"You are a member of the guard and I am chancellor of this ship. Let me remind you that I could have your badge for your insolence."

He lets this sink in.

"Instead I will answer your question and then you will leave and not speak to anyone about these matters. If certain people find out it will end very badly for Waverly. Is that clear?"

She looks suitably chastised.

"Yes sir."

He continues staring at Nicole as he chooses his words carefully.

"When I first found out who Waverly was, I changed her records to hide her. That worked for a time and then it didn't, leaving only drastic options. Imprisoning her seemed the most secure choice. The only way to avoid questions was to arrest her, to make it official. I couldn't put her with the rest of the prisoners, she would have been too exposed. She needs to be hidden, where few know her location and even fewer have access to her.

Nicole I'm not the bad guy here, I'm on Waverly's side. I promise I will help her until I find a way to give her back her freedom."

He figures the exchange should be enough judging by the thoughtful expression on Nicole's face. He hopes he's not making a mistake divulging that information. If certain people found out what he had done he would be in a lot of trouble, along with Waverly.

Nicole thanks him before leaving the room. He moves his arms behind his back, using his left hand to clasp his right wrist. Waverly's imprisonment is something that weighs heavily on his mind.

 _Nicole is right. She's innocent, only guilty of being a victim of other's transgressions._

He begins to pace.

He's always had a soft spot for Waverly but he hasn't let that stop him from making full use of her. It wouldn't be right to waste an almost exhaustive source of information and ideas, not when their survival depended on it. He could have stepped in sooner to help Waverly but it would have been delaying the inevitable.

 _That girl doesn't deserve this life but the many's needs must come first._

The problem is that the human existence is always at stake.

 _She deserves a chance at something more._

"Maybe there is another option for Waverly." he says out loud to himself.

Repairing the life support wasn't going well. The council is running out of ways to buy more time, leaving only desperate plans. Work had already started on preparing a dropship. The earth wasn't supposed to be survivable for another hundred years but they are already planning sending a small non-essential group to the ground. According to those more knowledgeable than him there is a small possibility that it might be survivable now. Waverly herself had used the term 'miniscule chance'. It depended on a number of factors, including the uncharted effects of long exposure to space radiation. It is undeniably risky but it might pay off.

 _It would at least save some oxygen._

 _Time is running out for us all._

He stops his pacing.

 _I could send Waverly - The likely outcome for her would be death but at least she would have a chance at freedom._

She could just as easily die on the Ark even with all his precautions. He knew Diana had not forgotten about Waverly and that eventually she would find a way to hurt her or worse. He has less time to keep an eye on Waverly recently because of the oxygen crisis. On the ground Waverly would be completely safe from Diane for a time and even more useful to him than on the Ark. She could inform Jaha about everything on earth and advise him about planning for the future. Her lifetime of knowledge would come in very useful for those who were sent with her and would lead to a better set up for when the rest of them arrived.

 _That's if she survives..._

He shakes his head at his dismal options.

 _There are too many hard choices to make in this universe._


	4. Chapter 4

She realises she's gritting her teeth and tries to relax her jaw, moving it back and forth it until it clicks. Her fingers rub at a spot below her ear as she balances a tray on the other. She had known the assignment wasn't going to last forever. At the beginning it had seemed like a good way to develop a relationship with the chancellor, maybe a start on a promotion. It had turned into more than that over the months. Now it has ended, as swiftly as it had begun.

Jaha had just informed her that Waverly is going to be moved. His mouth preached a spiel about it being dangerous to know any more, while his hands' practiced movement had told her that he was hiding something. His fingers waved as if to dispel any fears she may have had. Although he had looked truly sympathetic and weary, the timing of Commander Shumway had seemed a bit too convenient. She didn't get a chance to question him because the Commander had shown up. It sounded a bit paranoid but he could have easily planned it to avoid her questions. Something was up, something he doesn't want to talk to her about. That ruled out anything to do with Waverly's would be assassin.

 _What is he hiding?_

She could turn around and go find him, demand that he tell her what was going on but that would run the risk of pushing Jaha too far. She had to be careful, he had a line and she didn't want to cross it. Already she's started to mimic Waverly with her use of the chancellor's first name which could lead to trouble.

She had heard talk of work going on a dropship from other guards. Dread creeps into her bones as she thinks over the possibilities.

 _He wouldn't, would he?_

She stares at the door in front of her hoping it might reveal an answer and lets out a little huff of surprise as it begins to open. The tray wobbles as her hand goes to her shock baton, getting as far as pulling it out of it's holster before she recognises Abbey Griffin, the chief medical officer.

"Sorry Dr. Griffin I didn't expect anyone" she says relieved as she's pushing the baton down into place.

"That's ok Nicole" Abbey replies smiling at her. Nicole had only met her a handful of times so it was impressive that she remembers her name.

"I'm just finished checking up on Waverly."

Nicole's heart which had just got back to a normal pace, sped up again as she asks, "Is she okay?"

"She's fine, it's just a check up. "

Maybe the relief shows in her face or maybe Jaha had been talking about her, but Abby doesn't continue on her way only closes the door over and steadies her gaze on Nicole. Nicole feels a little nervous under the scrutiny but she patiently waits for Abbey to speak.

"Thank you. For being a friend to Waverly. She doesn't get much chance to make those."

Nicole takes a relieved breath before replying "It'd be hard not to be friends with Waverly, she's such a lovely person. It's a pity she's being moved tomorrow." She's enjoying the novelty of being able to talk about Waverly to another person but she hopes Abbey has more information to give.

Judging by her expression Abbey doesn't look like she knows anything about Waverly's change in location and asks "To where?"

Nicole doesn't know the doctor well but she thinks she detects a hint of sharp anger in her eyes.

"The chancellor didn't tell me anything else. Only that my assignment was finished." Nicole watches eyes narrowing further at her answer. At least she knows there's someone else fighting in Waverly's corner.

Another set of eyes settle on her, ones of a colour that is both green and brown, as Nicole enters the room after finishing her conversation with Abbey. They light up as Nicole smiles at her. The happiness she felt at seeing Waverly fades as questions infuse her troubled thoughts.

 _What do I tell Waverly? All of it? Some of it?_

As she walks slowly through the room, she tries to distract herself by looking around at the millions of words that were written on nearly every available space, on thousands of pages, on the covers of books, on the legs of furniture and even on the ceiling.

"Whatever it is, just spit it out!" Waverly looks at her expectantly.

"I don't -" Nicole is cut off.

"There's no point denying it, there's obviously something up with you." Waverly crosses her arms, an irresistible pout on her face.

 _Damn._

Nicole shakes her head in a futile attempt to resist her adorableness and lasts another three seconds.

 _Just get it over with._

"It's my last day, I don't know if Jaha told you..." Nicole trails off as her words hit Waverly who clearly hadn't been told about the change.

 _Thanks Jaha. Prick could have at least warned her._

"Sorry Wav" utters Nicole softly. Eyes down, Waverly turns away from her, shoulders hunched up as she begins to rummage at her desk.

She wonders if she should tell Waverly her fears about the dropship. Nicole starts to reach out to her.

 _If I'm wrong I'll have scared Waverly for nothing, screwed up my job along with everything else. If I'm right, there's still nothing we can do to stop it. Who could we tell ? The council? Fat chance they'd believe us over the chancellor, they could have us both floated._

Nicole lets her hand drop, deciding to leave it be. She's moving away when Waverly speaks.

"Sometimes I wish I could just wake up in a story. Somewhere far from this ship, away from it's rules and politics."

 _Jaha might grant her wish. Maybe we'll all move off the ship onto a planet, Earth if we're lucky. Eat real food, live in real houses..._

 _...The dropship has to survive it's journey first._

"Hello? Anyone home?" Waverly's waving her hand in front of her face.

"Sorry " she's apologising a lot today. "A lot on my mind."

"Is everything alright?" Waverly asks.

"Yeah - it's just...family stuff." she lies, tasting ashes. "And I'm going to miss our chats."

 _At least the second part is true._

"Do you want to talk about it?

"Thank you but no it's okay. There are a lot more enjoyable ways for us to spend our last bit of time together." She throws in a wink to convince Waverly that she's fine.

"We'll see each other again, things change." Waverly gives her this hopeful look and a weight made of pure guilt physically drops down the inside of Nicole's body, hitting the bottom of her stomach and settling heavily there, even though she knows that this is impossible. Nicole replies "Sure we will" with a positivity she doesn't feel. Knowing it's their last minutes together, maybe ever, she can't but take in every inch of Waverly.

A face that has taken over her dreams, eyes that could hold oceans of emotion. Hair which is normally in a messy bun, today hangs down, a few inches pushing past her shoulders, ends curling back towards her top. Her toned stomach was bare again and Waverly should be freezing but it was as if she felt no cold, that even the air itself could not resist Waverly's presence. Nicole at this moment wore several layers under her stiff uniform. They didn't help if she had to stand at alert for longer than fifteen minutes in one of the corridors. Once the cold got through the layers it seemed to encase her bones and there was no chance of warming up until her shift was over. Whatever recent problems the ship had, it's really messed with the air conditioning.

All thoughts of the cold tumble away when Waverly catches her staring openly, heat entering her cheeks.

 _I'm officially no longer her guard once I walk out that door - I'm finished already really._

Instead of looking away, she keeps their eyes locked, leaving it to Waverly to decide what happens next. There were times that she had been sure Waverly had been sending signals, but these were usually followed by Waverly's confidence disappearing faster than Unity Day cake. Now however, Waverly's intent seems clear as she closes the space between them and moves her lips towards Nicole's. Infuriatingly she turns and glides past to plant a kiss on her cheek. "Thank you."

Nicole's eyebrows furrow as she utters "For what?"

"For being you and for not just being a guard, for keeping me sane, for the little things you did." Waverly cheekily smiles at her, "Like talking to the chef for me."

The heavy mass of guilt makes itself known by clawing at Nicole's stomach, digging deeper. She reacts to it by wrapping a surprised Waverly up in a big hug, taking whatever comfort she can from it.


	5. Chapter 5

There's some sort of roaring in her ears as she comes to. Her head is pounding, heart pulsating in her chest. She's covered in a cold sweat but her mouth is dry and stale, her throat parching. She opens her eyes but quickly closes them again, unable to make out anything in the painful, bright, woozy blur. The roar dies down a little and she hears a low groan and voices far away. She tries to lower her head towards her knees to help with the dizziness but finds herself constricted. Weak hands search for the answer discovering a crisscross of straps with cold metal attached. She swallows slowly as she begins to understand what has happened. The sound of thruster engines become obvious but she still needs to confirm the situation with her own eyes. Thousands of spots dance through her vision before they begin to clear, uncovering the inside of the dropship and its passengers.

She'd always wanted to go to the ground, had loved reading tales of it. She had written reams on procedures for settling on earth but had never dared to think that it would be in her lifetime.

 _Oh how I have dreamed of the place. Home?_

Her elation is pulled down at the thought of their small chances of surviving on the ground. Fear begins to sink in at the situation. As she blinks away tears she remembers Jaha had asked her about her freedom and what she would risk to get it.

 _Right before that shit eater stabbed me with a needle. I deserve more than an unannounced sedation and that riddle of a question._

Some of the prisoners surrounding her scream as the dropship judders. The lights flicker on and off.

 _We must be entering the atmosphere already._

The bracelet on her arm attracts her attention and she studies it while Jaha begins a pretentious speech on a hanging screen. Even though she doesn't look up, the word expendable hits her hard. Someone shouts "your dad's a dick Wells" and her chuckle earns an amused look from the guy in the seat beside her. She looks away quickly not ready to deal with another person right now. Instead she concentrates on not freaking out, handling the threat of impending death as she would with her research - by ordering it into a list. She works through the possible outcomes figuring out the probability of each one and then organising them from the most likely to the least likely.

 _We die in a fiery crash_

 _We die from radiation_

 _We die from lack of water food or shelter_

 _We survive_

 _We die through our own stupidity_

 _We get killed by people already on earth_

The last option is almost a billion to one chance but she likes to cover everything. Survival is viable but less likely than other outcomes. She had told Jaha there was a tiny chance that the world might be livable if several factors worked out, including her most recent calculations of the Ark generations exposure to high levels of radiation.

 _Let's hope they do._

A commotion in the next section gets her attention. There's a guy with longish hair floating through the ship. Maybe she should have put the 'death through their own stupidity' option much higher up the list.

A blonde girl is shouting at the hovering boy. It could be Abbey's daughter, Clarke. The doctor had been very abrupt on her last few visits. If her daughter had been arrested and jailed that would explain why. The doctor always talked proudly of her daughter and her achievements.

Clarke is shouting again as the lights flicker on and off. Waverly's seatbelt cuts into her as her body is pushed upwards. All around her is screaming, crunching, screeching bodies flying through smoke and sparks.

 _Shit shit shit why aren't the rockets deploying?_

She spirals through a few more seconds of panic before the rockets kick in. It's more darkness then light now as the ship shudders even harder. She braces herself before it hits a surface softer than she expected it to. It quietens and she gratefully closes her eyes, relieved they had survived outcome number one.

The others have all left the room by the time she opens them again. From the hatch she can hear people talking about Octavia, the girl who had been hidden under the floor. She wishes she could help her in some way, feeling a kindred spirit with another who knows what it's like to live in the shadows. Climbing down the ladder she stops, looking out over the whole group and notes the main door is still closed.

 _Not for long._

A guy in a guards uniform has his hand on the lever to open it. She wants to release a scream that hangs below her throat but there's no point. They can't live in this small ship. The door opens and she stands, eyes wide as she feels actual fresh air hit her face. The little she could see from the back was green and alive. The Blake girl shouts "We're back bitches" and the crowd surges forward.

Waverly runs after them, out of the ship and onto the ground itself. Ground that is much springier than the rigid surface of the Ark. She's surrounded by tall trees and plants and a deep blue sky, everything more vibrant and wonderful than any book could had described. She's turning around and around to take it all in. The air, sweet and fresh, the sensation of it breathing gently on her body. So much sunlight, warming her skin gently. She stops spinning so she can touch everything, testing all the different textures under her fingertips. She watches little energetic insects that hop and fly through the air, buzzing and clicking. The grass calls out to her, rustling with the mellow breeze and she answers with a laugh. She sits down crossing her legs, hands sweeping through the grass, softer then she could have ever imagined. She rakes her fingers through a small patch of dirt, crumbs of earth lodging under her nails, marvelling at the fact that every stone and pebble was different to the next. As she looks closer at the ground she realises not all is as it appears, tiny creatures were navigating their way through the forest floor, adorned in spectacular camoflague..

Every one of her senses are overflowing with the new world around her. She wishes that Nicole was here to experience this with her. Until she remembers that Nicole had acted skittish when they had last talked, like she was hiding something.

 _There was no way that Jaha could pull off the dropship operation without the guards help._

Her thoughts turn darker, and she grips tightly onto a fallen branch, her knuckles a stark white. She forgets where she is, twitching when a voice asks "Are you alright?"

She looks up to see Clarke standing in front of her, concern evident. Waverly pushes away the thoughts that stung, smoothing out the frown that had formed and answers, "Yeah I'm just blown away by all this" gesturing around.

"It's crazy isn't it? So alive..." Clarke replies drifting off in awe. As she moves to stand, Clarke holds out her hand, pulling her up when Waverly accepts the help.

"I'm Waverly."

"Hi Waverly, I'm Clarke. I don't know if you remember me but I used to visit you with my mom sometimes - for your check ups."

Waverly had all but forgotten memories of playing with a little blonde girl in her room. "Barely, but yeah, I do" as she grins at her. The blonde girl smiles back saying " You were always much smarter than me so I'm hoping you might know where Jaha's map is."

"I don't know about that, but I have a couple of ideas on where to look." As they walk back into the dropship, Waverly already feels like she fits in here more than she ever did on the Ark.


	6. Chapter 6

This part of the ship seemed unusually quiet. The only sounds penetrating the otherwise silent corridor is a low hum from the artificial light and her own footsteps. Everything looks different to her now, duller, more synthetic and artificial. Even the people seemed dimmer, boring even. The corridor stretches out in front of her no different from the rest. Metal panels lined the walls as well as metal pillars, beams, and pipes.

 _Would it feel strange to walk through a corridor of wood or brick?_

Thoughts of the ground and how it would be different there are frequent now. As is the feeling of guilt when she remembers why it occupies her thoughts. She'd heard stories about some of the guard using their position to their advantage, had even seen it happen a couple of times, but what the council had done far surpassed this. Her father had warned her that politics and power can bring out the worst in people. She hadn't understood him then, not really.

 _Probably sent a hundred kids to their death._

Not that she was blame free.

When her captain had ordered them to transport prisoners from lock up to the dropship, she had furtively searched for Waverly's face hoping she wouldn't find it, stomach curdling when she did. Throat constricted, she had barely stopped herself from reaching out as guards walked by carrying two unconscious young women, her eyes passing straight over the blonde and onto Waverly. She had forced herself to ignore the fear in her stomach, turn around and repeat in her head that this was all for a bigger reason, trying to convince herself that it was for the good of the ark even as it rang false.

It's days later and that false feeling had only gotten stronger. Rumors had spread about the dropship and the guard had to deal with an increase in small incidents. The people were angry and she didn't blame them. She can't function like she had before, knowing her part in it all and the questions it had brought up. Paranoia about others noticing a change in her behaviour had set in. At least she has her own quarters, small as they are. In her current state, she could not have tolerated her mother. She loves her, but they had very different personalities and perspectives on life. It had been a lot easier when her dad was around to act as a buffer, and a lot happier. All her mother does now is complain and nitpick. Nicole's life would become her favourite subject when Nicole visited.

The door ahead opens and a man she doesn't recognise rushes past her. Nicole strolls through the doorway and catches a glimpse of another figure before it disappears around a corner. She's heard rumours that the ship has landed successfully but she needs a definite confirmation. It's not curiosity but a need to know. Jaha has managed to avoid her many attempts to talk to him. Asking around about Wavery is an option but a dangerous one as the person who wanted Waverly dead could find out about her enquiries. She spots Doctor Griffin at the far end of the corridor. The woman is walking at a hectic place and Nicole could lose her if she's doesn't keep up.

 _She might be going somewhere important, maybe I should wait._

She knows she can't wait, the nightmares are getting worse every night. The images of the dropship crashing and burning haunt her long into the mornings. She's not getting much sleep and it shows. Her mother had so helpfully pointed out the dark circles under her eyes. Carl had seemed genuinely concerned after first mocking her for repeatedly messing up simple tasks.

As she turns the corner, she sees the doctor up ahead with a younger woman with dark hair. The pair is deep in conversation and Nicole slows her pace hoping she's not interrupting anything important.

"-not the fuel intake that's the problem, the combustor might not hold up to the trip to - "

They turn surprised as she clears her throat.

"What did you hear?" the younger woman advances on her threateningly. Nicole straightens up and faces towards her ready to act.

"Raven relax." Turning to Nicole, Abbey asks with shrewd eyes, "Nicole are you here on official business?"

 _Whatever they're doing its not on the level._

Instead of doing her job and inquiring further she responds, "No I just wanted to ask about Waverly", holding out her hands with her fingers spread in a gesture of surrender. Abbey's shoulders dip ending her intense scrutinisation of Nicole. It's followed by a deep breath and Abbey saying "Waverly... there's a chance she may be dead. I'm sorry Nicole." Abbey reaches out to try comfort Nicole but stops when she flinches.

 _That's not what she's supposed to say._

Nicole's world goes blank before it resets and she becomes aware of everything again. The ringing in her ears retreats as Abbey's voice filters through.

"-of the 100 wore bracelets that transmitted data to the ark - we can't communicate with them but we can see how they're doing health wise. The other explanation is that she broke her bracelet. It's less likely as it'd be hard to do unless...it was on purpose. From what I know of her it doesn't seem like something she'd do."

Nicole nods almost mechanically in agreement. Abbey looks at her, lips pursed, deep in thought before saying "There's a chance to find out for sure if she and the others are alive. " Nicole's heart starts on hearing this.

"You can't-"

"Shush now Raven " Abbey cuts her off before she can finish. Raven looks like she might explode if she doesn't get the words out but they seem to come to a silent agreement before Abbey turns back to Nicole.

"My daughter is among them" she says staring past Nicole as she takes a heavy breath before looking back at her with softer eyes. "It's not only about the people on the ground. We need to know if the ground is survivable, I'm sure you've figured that much out Nicole. What you don't know is that the longer that takes the more people will die. You can help us prevent that. "

Abbey's demeanour changes becoming harder.

"But I can't promise it will be legal. You can leave us now and forget what has been said. Of course you can tell Jaha about this but you might find him believing me over you." Abbey said, back ram rod straight, leaving the threat of floating unsaid. Nicole finds she actually prefers Abbey's frank and fairly open manner over Jaha's deceit and his secrets. They were dangerous in different ways, and both could get her killed in their plots.

Abbey opens a door to their left via the number pad, gesturing to Nicole to choose. If she had been given that choice months ago, she would have reported them. It would have been an easy decision even though she knew they would have been floated. Now she's unsure of the council's true motivations and that had curtailed her conviction in her orders. Her father would have told her to do the right thing, to go with her gut. He had folllowed the law on the Ark strictly but Nicole knew of a few times when he had bent the rules to help someone who genuinely needed it.

 _Can I trust these two?_

Raven would be an abrasive ally judging by the last few minutes but it's clear that Abbey calls the shots. Could she trust Abbey? Her driving force is obviously a need to protect Clarke but she has shown concern and care for Waverly in the past. That's when she remembers Waverly is probably dead and she barely manages to keep the nausea at bay. When it passes she pushes her shoulders back nodding to Abbey as she walks through the doorway. Abbey takes them through a few more rooms before they reach their destination. It looks ordinary, the blue walls and grey floor standard for this part of Mecha station. What isn't so ordinary is what looks like a small sized spacecraft sitting on the floor, its doors opened upwards with a red jacket hanging off one of them. A large panel is missing from the front of it allowing a view into the interior, where wires run everywhere and coloured buttons light up. Nicole wasn't that technologically inclined but could deduce from the tools which are dotted around the room and the camp bed complete with slept in sleeping bag, that Raven is fixing up the spacecraft as fast as she could.

"The plan is to get the escape pod working and the two of us will fly to earth, hopefully to the same location where the others landed." Abbey explains. Nicole runs her finger along an edge of the contraption, clearing a line in a sea of dust. "This thing is supposed to work?" sounding doubtful as she cleans the dust off her fingertip.

 _It looks like a two hundred year old piece of rusty junk. Rather them than me._

Raven looks offended. Abbey jumps in before she has a chance to retort. "We have the best mechanic on the ship. She'll make it work." Nicole has her doubts but her resolve hardens as she realises her shoulders have loosened, that the rock like lump in her stomach is shrinking a little.

As the others begin debating how Nicole can provide support for them efficiently and with the least risk, her mind drifts away contemplating the chance to redeem herself for helping to send the hundred to the ground. Her chance to find out if she had helped send Waverly to her death.


	7. Chapter 7

"It's inhumane.. for us not him."

That comment gets a laugh. Waverly doesn't join in. She feels a little sick at the blasé way they can make fun of someone in that much pain. Jasper didn't seem like a bad guy.

"Someone needs to shut him up" Mark complains as another scream sounds across their novice camp.

"Are you going to do anything about it or just keep running your mouth off?" sneers Jeff.

 _Here we go again._

It was another challenge, another example of one of the guys trying to establish dominance. It had started within an hour of landing on earth, Murphy and Wells preening and throwing weak punches at each other. Her patience is starting to wear thin, enough that it must show on her face because Champ brings an arm around her waist, tilting his head to look down at her.

"Relax Waverly, of course no one is actually going to hurt him" he says mistaking her annoyance as fear for Jasper's welfare. Today's kiss is a welcome distraction but he's making a bad habit out of it. At least this time she hadn't missed out on the attempt to hike to Mount Weather. On the day of the landing she was helping Clarke was helping out with the chancellor's son injury, when she heard a voice say her name. She had looked up to see Champ standing in front of her, with his cute smile, stretching out his arms to envelop her in a hug. The group had left the camp without her noticing.

They had seamlessly fallen back into the relationship they had been in before she had been locked away. He had changed on the outside, older, better looking, and even more charming but he hadn't matured at the same rate. It's fun and familiar but not exactly intellectually stimulating. He introduced her to his friends and for the most part they treat her with indifference but it's a nice change to be included and to have people to talk to. At the beginning at least. Now she's tiring of watching what she's saying, the constant need to be careful not to say anything that went over their heads. If they didn't understand they would either get annoyed or they thought she was being weird. She prefers the latter option as the former reminds her of past sharp voices and cruel words.

In those moments she misses Nicole. She had radiated confidence even when she didn't understand a word Waverly said. Nicole's voice was always soft, she'd go as far as to say sultry. Her stomach makes an uncomfortable flip at the thought of Nicole. The last time they had met she had deceived her. Waverly could see Nicole's cagey behaviour and absentmindedness for what it was that day. There's little chance of confronting Nicole as communication with the Ark is non existent and they had no real shot at fixing it.

 _Does I even want to see her again?_

She's kept the anger she feels over this betrayal contained deep down with the rest. It simmers away in the background, bubbling up forcefully when thoughts of Nicole, Jaha and the others cross her mind. Champ's hand stills at the back of her neck and she checks to see what has got his attention. Mark and Jeff are squaring up to one another.

 _They don't need my help to make them look stupid they can do that all by themselves._

Champ lets go of Waverly so he can attempt to calm them down. She doesn't understand the need to fight amongst themselves. They had lost two of their group already, Jasper is badly injured and they've discovered they're not alone in the world.

 _We need to stay strong._

Making her mind up, Waverly decides to leave them to their alpha male bullshit. She's not beholden to any of them, it's only Champ who she feels she owes anything to. He had stood by her whenever he could, even Jaha had remarked on Champs's determination to see Waverly after she had been arrested. He had protected her when he saw she was being bullied and she's sure that if it wasn't for him, she wouldn't have had any friends on the Ark. Down here she had made friends outside of Champ's circle, had fit in better amongst the mavericks and misfits, those thought expendable by above. Champ is far from perfect, she knows he had cheated on her but he always came back. There's no one else in her life who came back to her. He had always been full of apologies, anxious brown eyes asking for her forgiveness.

An insect on one of the tents she passes catches her eye, but it flies off before she can get a closer look. Every day brought new experiences, new adventures, and new discoveries that brought a lot of questions. She's learning to live with people again instead of a room full of paper. Not that she wants to be back alone in her box in the sky but people brought complications, such as having to sneak off to write notes without being questioned. She hasn't told anybody about her work on the Ark. On the dropship, Jaha had stowed away the manuals she had written for survival on the ground along with blank notebooks and a poetry book. She ignored the book knowing it was a personal gesture from Jaha but she began rapidly filling the notebooks. One of them is already half full - questions about the grounders as well as the small list of confirmed facts known about them. Since the discovery of the 'grounders' she's had to curtail her research somewhat. She still sneaks off but stay much closer and arms herself with a makeshift weapon. She does plan on telling Clarke about it all but she simply didn't want the responsibility it would bring, not yet. Clarke has already been curious about her vast wealth of knowledge.

"Waverly."

She jumps a little when she sees Clarke exiting the dropship.

"Just the person I was looking for." Clarke's eyebrows creep closer together. "Are you alright?"

"Sure why wouldn't I be. Totally amazeballs." Clarke looks a little confused at Waverly's flustered answer as Waverly continues with "What's going on?"  
Clarke shows her a poultice belonging to the grounders, explaining her plan to help Jasper. Finn and Wells show up and Wells agrees with Waverly that it's seaweed based on the root structure. As they figure out the most likely locations of the seaweed, Waverly observes the tension between the three of them. When Clarke asks her if she wants to come along on the seaweed hunt, she decides against going. As fun as it would to get the chance to explore more, whatever was going on between the three of them is too messy for her liking.

"I'll go check up on Jasper. I'm not a doctors daughter but I know a few things." She notices Clarke flinch a little at the excuse.

 _Touchy subject._

Climbing into the dropship she finds that Jaspers injury is as bad as Clarke had told her. She can see where the infected skin has been cut back. Octavia and Monty are also inside, full of nervous energy, one hovering and one pacing, both fidgeting.

"Clarke said you might be able to use my help." she's barely talked to either of them since the landing but she's heard the arguing between the Blake siblings. Monty had been friendly before but now he ignores her as he picks at metal parts on a table, back turned to them.

"As long as you're not afraid of blood." Octavia smiles darkly at her. She shrugs. Granted it wasn't her favourite thing to see but she didn't mind as long as it wasn't her own. Octavia takes a warm damp cloth off Jasper's forehead and hands it to Waverly pointing out the bowl full of cold water beside her.

What feels like hours pass without anyone talking. Octavia seems mute and Monty is quietly concentrating in the corner so the only sound is Jaspers laboured breathing and his occasional whimpers. The silence is getting on her nerves but every attempt at conversation failed. Again she rinses the cloth in the cool water and places it back on Jasper's forehead.

A moment later she blurts out "What's it like to have a brother?"

 _Damn it Waverly._

Octavia's head whips up, hair following.

"Annoying."

"Annoying like never leaves you alone or - "

"Why are you interested in him? I thought you were with Champ" Octavia cuts across her.

"No! I'm not interested - I'm just making conversation."

"Sure" Octavia winks slyly at a now red Waverly.

"I'm happy with Champ" she says weakly.

 _Mostly._

Octavia snorts and Warely firmly retorts " I am!"

"I get it, Champ is great to look at" Octavia replies smirking at her. "He's not the most intelligent guy I've ever met but he's probably pretty stress free right?"

Waverly opens her mouth but quickly shuts it again, realising she would have to pick her battles with the girl and that this one isn't worth it.

Five uncomfortable minutes later it's Octavia who speaks up.

"Why did you take off your bracelet?" Her question is accompanied by an intense curious gaze.

She's thrown off at this and stammers and stutters through her answer.

"I...um...I - I hadn't made my mind up about taking it off or not." It isn't the whole story but she isn't going to tell Octavia that she thought taking it off might mean she would be free of Jaha and his expectations. That maybe she would leave the camp before any more of the Ark's people came to Earth. That she could live out her life free and happy. She had seen how some of the 100 treated Wells and she didn't know how they'd react to finding out she was Jaha's personal choice for gathering information and communicating it back to the Ark.

"Murphy broke it by slamming it in to a rock." Her fingers rub gently over her still bruised wrist.

"He's a prick"

She shares a smile with Octavia when she hears her slight Murphy. Octavia's questions continue but they're simpler, born from a genuine curiousity. Some of them are intrusive but given that Octavia only had two people to talk to in her whole life before a few days ago, it's understandable.

"Why were you locked up?"

She knew this would come up. She's surprised Octavia doesn't know already given that Waverly had told Champ and his friends already and that kind of gossip spread quickly. They had been extremely impressed, Champ proclaiming his girlfriend a rebel and grabbing her ass in his way of showing appreciation. She had put up with it even though it had made her feel uncomfortable. He's a handsy guy but it's starting to wear on her.

"I tried to kill Diana...you know the former chancellor. I didn't like her." They had all laughed raucously and clapped her on the back but Octavia just stares at her. It was the same answer she had given the others, not true but not far from the truth either.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you try kill her?" Her made up excuse dies out before it leaves her mouth with Octavia's eyes challenging her.

"She had my mom floated."

Sirens sound in the distance.


	8. Chapter 8

She had never imagined that her original investigation would lead her here, putting her trust in a woman she barely knew and in a hundred and thirty year old piece of crap. Hurtling through space at what felt like a million miles an hour in a steel death trap is far outside her comfort zone. She must have left her sanity in the Ark.

Raven on the other hand is having the time of her life. It's probably the only thing that's stopping Nicole from freaking out.

"Look at that shit! Amazing!" Raven's pointing at earth but Nicole can't appreciate the immense view for long, looking back down at her gloves quickly.

"You're missing out on a once in a lifetime opportunity. What's the matter Haught shot? Think I'm going to let us die? I'm mildly offended." She's grinning widely at her.

"I know you're not my biggest fan Raven but don't kill us to spite me."

"Actually I think you're growing on me. Like a fungus or a mold or something like that."

"Gee thanks."

Raven turns away, beginning to mutter calculations under her breath as she pushes what seems like random buttons. Trying to ignore the hopefully insignificant shudders that rippled through the ship, Nicole's mind floats back to the last conversation she had on the Ark.

"Nicole you have to go instead of me."

"What no!"

Raven objects and Nicole feels the same way. She's unsure why Abby's changing her mind at this late stage. Nicole knew what she had gotten herself into.

"What Raven said. I can stall them Abby. The whole idea was to...this is all because of you" Nicole gestures to the pod. "You have to make sure Clarke is safe."

"You two can do that. Kane's not going to listen to you Nicole but I think I can delay him for a couple of minutes." Abby pauses for a second before continuing. " It was wrong of me to bring you into this. Kane will know you helped us and they'll float you for it. I can't have anot...a death on my conscience."

"They'll float you too" Nicole points out.

"Then they'll float me. But they might not, doctors are in short supply." Abby gives them a small smile.

"I'm not going without you" Raven states vehemently.

Abby rubs Ravens shoulder gently saying "You have to Raven, you're the only one who can drive. Someone has to find those kids quickly and radio back. Three hundred innocent people will die if you don't." Nicole swallows hesitantly as the reality sets in that she's going on a very dangerous journey away from everything she's ever known. But it's also a chance to make things right, to stop the nightmares and to find an answer to the question that's been plaguing her thoughts for the past twelve days.

 _Is Waverly alive or dead?_

Abby hugs Raven for a few moments before lingering to hold her hands. Nicole can see tears in both their eyes. Abby pulls away from Raven saying "No matter what happens, you launch that pod. Do you understand?" She waits for Raven's heavy nod and then surprises Nicole by pulling her into a brief hug, whispering "Look after them" in her ear.

Her last words had been "Tell Clarke I love her."

While her mind was stuck in the past, her fingers have been unconsciously trying to iron out creases in the space suit she's wearing. It's not very successful given the gloves and the fact the suit is probably as old as the pod itself. The much newer one that Abby managed to procure is on Raven. They hadn't been sure the older suit would work and they all knew without Raven the pod would never make it to earth. It was only supposed to be a back up plan in case they couldn't get a pressure regulator. Which they did but it failed in the final minutes.

 _Thank the stars I didn't want them to bet their lives on the one piece of equipment._

When Nicole had found out their whole plan had depended on the pressure regulator she had insisted on another option. Raven had protested at what she thought was a personal attack on her abilities but had eventually suggested the space suit hanging beside the pod might work instead. Maybe she shouldn't have pushed for it Raven could have made this road trip solo.

 _Not that it's a sure thing that we'll make to the ground in one piece._

"Ok RCS valve...open" Raven's words seep through her thoughts.

"Good...that is good right?" asks Nicole nervously as Raven pushes one of the switches, beeping pouring out from the panels of coloured buttons, dials and switches.

"RCS thrust pressure...good" Raven ignores her question as she presses button after button.

"Ahhh attitude good." A grinning Raven turns to a now sweating Nicole. "You okay there Haught stuff?" Her grin grows wider as Nicole gives a small nod.

"Heat shield...good."

Nicole continues to watch her every move and winces when she sees Raven frown.

"Okay. Ahh..."

"Is that a good ah or a bad one?" asks Nicole quietly.

"Stop being a scaredy cat, it's going to be fine. You have a genius beside you." Raven replies looking at her before going back to her operation.

After pushing a particular switch Raven mutters "Don't blow up."

"Don't let it blow up Raven" Nicole demands.

"I'm trying just wait a second."

Nicole distracts herself from the consuming terror by concentrating on the panel in front of her. She notices a labeled lever and reads aloud the handwritten note on the top.

"Retro fire - kiss your ass goodbye...wait what?!"

Raven turns, fixing an almost zealous gaze on Nicole before looking down to cover the frightening words with her gloved hand. When she looks back at Nicole she declares "Hold on to something, this is going to be rough!" with a disarming smile in place. She pulls the lever back causing a colossal upsurge in their speed and Nicole is forced back in her seat as they rocket towards earth.

"Raven this doesn't feel right. Raven-" She's cut off as the ship begins to frantically shake, flames lighting up the windscreen and sparks flying from the electrical equipment inside.

 _Shit shit shit..._

The only reason she isn't puking everywhere is that even her vomit is too terrified to do anything as the ship veers, tugging, and shuddering. She closes her eyes against the heat as the loud attack on the ship intensifies, rocking it from side to side and up and down. It's as if the ship is encased in a blazing fireball that's on the fence about whether to burn them or crush them to death. When the roar of noise weakens for brief moments she hears whimpers. She's not sure if it's her or Raven or both of them.


	9. Chapter 9

Her arm and her head hurts. Voices drift around her becoming clearer as the seconds pass. Raven's familiar tone sticks out.

"She's a good sort, not one of Jaha's cronies."

Another voice, less familiar speaks up.

"Do you think the uniform will be a problem? Back at camp?"

"They're just going to have to live with it" another unknown voice replies.

When she opens her eyes, her vision is a bit blurry. "What camp?" she asks groggily. She gasps when the sky above her becomes clear. Three faces look down at her, giving her knowing looks.

"We made it, Raven you are a genius."

"I am and of course we did" Raven beams at her.

She sits up taking in the world around her saying "This is insane!"

"Are you feeling okay? Any dizziness or anything?" the blonde asks.

"No I'm fine." Her head is pounding, cuts and bruises stinging, but with everything that's happening she pays no heed to the annoyances. Instead she takes Raven's outstretched hand to pull herself into a standing position. It's an easy manoeuvre without the cumbersome space suit on. They must have managed to relieve her of it while she was unconscious. Her mind invents an image of them carrying her unconscious body out of the pod that immediately reminds her of the last time she saw her.

"Waverly" slips out of Nicole's mouth.

"You know Waverly?" the other woman asks.

"She's alive?" Nicole holds her breath.

"Yes definitely alive, she's fine."

At her answer Nicole releases her breath and the caustic slab of guilt that's living inside of her eases, shrinking.

"See Haughty your girlfriend is fine." Raven nudges Nicole's shoulder with her own.

"She's not my girlfriend!" She pokes Raven's shoulder hard at the outpouring of sniggers and with a question deftly changes the subject. "Did you ask about Clarke?"

Clarke stretches out her hand to Nicole. "I'm Clarke. Nice to meet you Nicole. " As their hands clasp, Nicole's eyes meet Clarke's blue ones and she recalls Abbey's sacrifice. Before she can say anything, the guy grabs a hold of her hand, shaking it.

"Finn." He gives her an easy going smile, brushing long hair out of his eyes. "Raven told us who you were. You took so long to wake up I thought we might have to carry you back to the camp."

"The camp?"

"It's not far. The rest of the us are there. We'll go there after... There's a bit of a situation. We need to get going."

Nicole is confused but figures she should go along with it. "Sure but we do need to radio the Ark and let them know you're all okay - Did Raven tell you?"

"That's the situation. We'll explain on the way."

A bird caws in the distant. A real live bird. As they travel through the forest Nicole is having a hard time holding herself back from stopping to look at every new thing they pass. Raven grabs her arm pulling her towards the group ahead.

"The radio thief is up there, look." She points to a guy about six foot in height with dark hair. Clarke jogs ahead and exchanges words with him that become clearer as they catch up.

"-to kill 300 people up there to save oxygen. And I can guarantee you it won't be council members. It'll be working people. Your people. Bellamy." Clarke pokes him in the chest angrily.

 _Bellamy._

Nicole recognises his name and then his face. It would be hard not to. She wonders if the others knew what he had done. Raven had to know, his face had been everywhere on the Ark. Finn strides up to Bellamy and shoves him asking "Where's the radio?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Bellamy pushes him back a few steps.

"Bellamy Blake? They're looking everywhere for you." Raven joins in on their interrogation.

"Shut up."

"Looking for him why?" asks Clarke.

"He shot Chancellor Jaha" Nicole answers. Bellamy swiftly turns, looking her up and down.

"Are you here to arrest me?" he snarls at Nicole who holds up her hands in a defensive gesture.

Shocked looks adorn both Clarke and Finn's faces.

"That's why you took the wristbands. You needed everyone to think we're dead." Clarke's upset words deflect his attention from Nicole.

"And all that 'whatever the hell we want'? You just care about saving your own skin." Finn verbalises his own bitter thoughts on the situation.

Bellamy throws them a final look, a look that Nicole can't quite decipher and walks off. Raven doesn't let him escape, keeping up his pace as she walks beside him.

"Hey! Shooter! Where's my radio?" She stands in front of him blocking his path in a self assured stance.

"Get out of my way." Bellamy barely glances at her.

"Where is it?" Raven asks again and this time he gives her his full attention. They get in each other faces, Bellamy replying harshly "I should've killed you when I had the chance. You and your guard friend." He's glaring at Raven but there's a hint of a smile on her face and a glint in her eyes. His rigid jaw a contrast to the swagger in the way she inches closer to him.

"Really? Well, I'm right here." Her voice is softer than before but with menace lurking underneath. She's riling him up with purpose, wanting a fight. Nicole can feel the tension between them building up to a breaking point. Her hand reaches for her stun stick, grasping at nothing but empty air.

She doesn't have time to question her missing weapon because Bellamy reacts by grabbing Raven by her collar and shoving her into a tree, sliding his hand up and around her throat. Raven immediately retaliates by pulling out a switchblade and holding it close to Bellamy's face.

Raven asks a third time "Where's my radio?"

Nicole moves to de-escalate the situation but Clarke steps out in front of her to move close to the warring pair.

"Okay stop it."

They glare at each other a moment longer but Clarke's words have the desired affect. Bellamy lets go and begins walking away saying "Jaha deserved to die. You all know that."

Raven fixes her jacket before replying to Bellamy. "Yeah, he's not my favorite person, either. But he isn't dead."

"What?"

"You're a lousy shot."

"Bellamy, don't you see what this means?" Clarke walks up to him. "You're not a murderer. You always did what you had to do to protect your sister. That's who you are. And you can do it again, by protecting 300 of your people. Where's the radio?" Her passionate words are matched by an intense stare.

"It's too late."

"What do you mean it's too late?" Raven's tone has Nicole back on high alert for more violence.

Bellamy scratches bashfully at the back of his head. "I got rid of it. Threw it into a river a couple of miles away."

"You're a fucking dickhead." Raven sticks to verbally abusing him to Nicole's relief.

"Fuck you."

"If we found it would could you get it working Raven?" Clarke asks.

"We wouldn't have to fix it if a certain idiot hadn't fucked it up for-"

"Raven" Finn moves to rub soothing circles on her back. "No one's disagreeing with you."

Raven reluctantly lets Bellamy off with a final death stare and turns back to Clarke . "I'd have to see what's broken but if it's possible I'll get it done."

"Then we need volunteers for our search party" Clarke suggests. "Let's go." Her determined tone kick starts them into action.

As they walk back to the camp Bellamy and Clarke stride ahead. Raven and Finn are wrapped up in other so Nicole doesn't bother trying to join in on their conversation. Instead she observes their surroundings, relaxing more and more with every step.

 _It's so peaceful._

Minutes later raised voices ruin the peace. Bellamy and Clarke are stopped ahead, Nicole realising they are arguing about her as she approaches.

"So what? She's a guard, she's going to cause alarm, probably violence walking into the camp dressed like that."

"We'll just tell them the truth. She came down with Raven to try save three hundred people, they can't dispute that."

"You're being naive Clarke. It's about their truth. They're going to think Jaha sent her."

"Well she's with us now. Even if she was a spy you've made contacting Jaha next to impossible."

Bellamy huffs in annoyance. They both turn to Nicole hearing the crunch beneath her boot as it crushes a stick. Bellamy looks back to Clarke and states "We need to be prepared" before walking off again. Clarke frowns at this. The way those two talked with each other, it sounded to Nicole as if they were making decisions for their group. Leading everyone who had come down from the Ark.

 _At least I have one of them in my corner._

"Is he right?" Nicole asks Clarke. Bellamy has paused up ahead, back turned to them.

"He's overreacting. I can think of a few people who might object to you but we've much bigger problems to worry about."  
Nicole is unsure if Clarke is downplaying the danger, it had seemed a heated debate.

 _Guess I'll just have to roll with the punches._

They're joined by the couple which causes dismay to flash quickly across Clarke's face before it's disappears. Raven slings one arm over Nicole's shoulders and uses the other to point at her.

"This one is Haught stuff. She'll charm them all, just you wait." Raven turns from Clarke to wink surreptitiously at Nicole.

"You're going to run out of puns sooner or later" Nicole replies, shooting Raven a withering glare.

"We're almost there now" Finn tells her. Nicole notices a lone figure standing in the distance. They're about Waverly's size but she can't be sure it's her.


	10. Chapter 10

She's used to being more in control or at least the illusion of it. Gone were the Arks rules and routines, replaced by the unknown. The figure not reappearing and the start of a breeze rustling the leaves on the trees has her on edge. Some curious faces turn to see who's entering the camp but she keeps her head high, radiating a confidence she does not feel. She keeps one eye out for trouble and the other for Waverly as she follows Bellamy and Clarke. The fenced in camp has creative shelters scattered in front of and beside the dropship, which has a large curtain draping over the entrance. It's humming with activity, people going about their morning routines, some at the fire pits, some eating and others just chatting. Nicole files away her questions for later.

 _How have they been surviving food wise? Had they visited the Mount Weather site? Why do they needed a fence? Where is Waverly?_

False hope rises up in her when she sees a petite frame off to one side. With their long brown hair swinging, the girl turns around. Nicole's legs stutter but she doesn't stop. Disappointed she scans the camp again, noticing two guys conversing with furtive glances her way. One looks familiar and angry. As it sinks in that it's someone she knows, she calls out to those in front of her.

"We may have a problem." Her voice is low and composed. "There's a guy over there - look beside the red and white shelter. Up in the ark I helped arrest him and unfortunately he looks like he's holding a grudge."

"I warned you" Bellamy hisses at Clarke. "After what happened to Murphy-"

"Good job Bellamy. You got one whole thing right today" Clarke interrupts him in exasperation and Bellamy scowls at her in reply.

"This isn't the time for us to argue. Can you just take care of them? I'll get her out of sight."

Bellamy nods reluctantly and Clarke takes a hold of Nicole's arm tugging at her to follow. At first she tries to keep herself hidden behind Clarke but with her height there's no point trying. She gets a few dirty looks and muttered insults on the walk before Clarke pushes aside a canvas door and quickly pulls her inside. Feeling jittery she moves her hands to where her equipment belt used to be and pokes her thumbs through her empty belt loops. She misses the security that her shock baton brought in times of potential trouble.

"Do you have a plan?" Nicole asks Clarke when she doesn't speak up.

"I can talk to them, Bellamy too, we'll make them understand you're not a threat."

It's harder to believe her this time.

"And you think that will work?" She tries not to let her skepticism show but she can't help the slight edge in her tone.

"Well... you did come down at a bad time." She must have seen something in Nicole's expression because she backtracks. "Not that I'm saying you shouldn't have come down but things have been particularly delicate in the past 24 hours." There's a heaviness to her words that stops Nicole from pushing for more.

 _Who knows what they had gone through since they landed, alone, cut off from any assistance._

They had been sent into untold danger away from the only home they had ever known by the people who were supposed to protect them. She had played her part in it too. She has no need to cause them more pain. In the absence of conversation Clarke had walked over to the entrance, peering out before stepping back to allow Bellamy to stomp in.

"There's a lot of suggestions out there and none of them are good" Bellamy barks at Clarke. "Have you got a plan princess?"

"Can you give us a minute Nicole?" Clarke asks Nicole who answers affirmatively and walks to the other end of the tent. Back and forth their whispers go rising to murmurs which reveal snippets of their conversation.

"...she worth it?..."

"...they'd be happy to...get off scot free?" as Bellamy jabs his finger at the entrance. The whole thing feels surreal, her future seemingly dependent on these two. She shouldn't be surprised given that her life has been steadily moving out of her control since she'd met Waverly and it had only gotten worse after Waverly left it again. The adrenalin is wearing off letting her feel the full effects of the landing. The bruises aren't half as bad as the headache that's building up between her eyes, threatening to turn into a full on migraine. The voices that are getting louder don't help.

"...came down to help...council...hop on a ship and visit?"

"That won't change their minds, we both know that. " The anger leaves Bellamy's voice as he says softly " They'll kill her." His eyes meet Nicole's briefly before flicking back to Clarke's. Raven and Finn arrive into the shelter interrupting the strained silence that follows Bellamy's statement.

"Hey idiots...woah who died?"

"How did you find us?" Bellamy's only reply is a clipped question.

"We just followed the angry faces. Man people are pissed!"

As if to prove Raven's words true Waverly strides in. Time slows down for Nicole, milliseconds elongating. The tent door that had been whipped into the air hangs, sunlight streaming through the opening, illuminating the edges of Waverly's figure. The light makes Nicole squint but it makes Waverly glow, giving her an otherworldly, almost mythical appearance. The tent door swings back stealing the light from Waverly's figure as a pair of dark eyes hone in on Nicole breaking her from her trance. Her feet tug her forward a few steps, stopping in confusion when she sees the expression on Waverly's face. Nicole had seen that look once before, the day Waverly had entrusted her with her secret. It had only flashed across her face for an instant but Nicole had wondered what it meant.

"You're alive Wav-" Her cheery greeting is cut short.

"You knew didn't you?" Waverly speaks in an unfamiliar spiky tone with eyes so intense that Nicole has to look away. The knot of guilt that she had thought gone makes itself known, tugging painfully at her. Nicole meets her eyes again hoping to get the chance to explain.

"Yes but..."

"I thought you were different." Waverly's fists clench at her sides, one unfurling to jab a finger in Nicole's direction. "You didn't even have the common decency to tell me."

Gone was the chatty, bubbly, slightly flustered young woman from the Ark. In her place is a manifestation of white hot fury. A goddess with unyielding ruthless eyes that wants a war. A war Nicole doesn't want.

"I'm sorry I should have-"

"Fuck you" it echoes around her head.

"I-"

"No it's my turn to talk. You had your chance, I asked you what was on your mind that day. You knew and you could have told me. Instead you helped them send me, us down here."

Her voice had been powerfully loud but her next sentence is barely audible yet it's all the more devastating.

"I could have died."

Waverly's fingers stray to fidget at the hem of her top. Nicole can hear her taking in a wobbly breath. She takes her own uneven breath in response.

"I thought...Did I mean so little to you?" Her words carve into her like barbed wire, twisting and scratching her raw. Waverly cuts her off before she can voice her denial.

"It was stupid of me to think we were friends, good friends. You're not a nice person. In fact you're a deceitful, backstabbing, bad person."

Nicole doesn't know what to say, doesn't know how to communicate with this new harder Waverly. Anything she says is likely to make her angrier. She tries anyway.

"Waverly I know I messed up but I didn't-"

"I don't want to hear any more of your lies! Go do whatever you fucking want but stay the hell away from me." Waverly says with huffing cheeks tinged with red. She spins around exiting the tent leaving an agonising silence in her wake.

Nicole is shaking after the exchange, stunned, her heart racing. She can hear the others beginning to talk again but the sound is dampened by a hum in her ears. Feeling light headed she sags into a chair. She concentrates on breathing in and out slowly, clenching her fingers and toes into fists and releasing them, over and over.

"You're not looking so hot Haught."

She jumps a little when she realises how close Raven is. She almost jumps again when Raven wraps a blanket around her.

"You're looking pretty pale. I think you might be in shock, you've been through a lot today...I mean with the falling from the sky and all."

Raven rolls her eyes at Clarke's lame attempt to avoid bringing up Waverly but decides to help her out.

"It's probably just hunger, we haven't eaten since the Ark. Is there any food going in this place?"

"Sure what I get for you Madame?"

Finn's answer draws Raven into a conversation about their options, giving Clarke room to check Nicole's vitals and ask a few questions to assess her condition.

"You're heart rate is up but you'll be fine after food, rest and lots of water" Clarke tells her before she leaves with an impatient Bellamy. It's not long before the noise outside increases. Bellamy calls for quiet and the multitude of voices obey him. It's hard to muster up any hope for a good outcome. Even Waverly thinks of the 100 as an 'us' and the rest of the Ark as a 'them'.

 _I'm screwed._


	11. Chapter 11

He leaves his hat on the arm of his chair. Scratched and faded, it's almost as old as him. It is a frivolous thing but he is glad to have a memento of his mother. They had spent many evenings together - her working on the hat, him watching her with wide eyes and giddy feet that bounced off the table in excitement. It had been far too big for him, slipping down over his eyes every time he ran in it but he had wanted an exact replica not a kiddie version. He had grown into it eventually. Today he could do without the extra attention it brings.

 _Especially with this hangover approaching._

His door slides open revealing a surprise visitor which causes a mumbled swear to fall out of his mouth. He's not ready to be civilised but he makes an effort. After all he does have a reputation as a gentleman to uphold.

"Doctor Griffin, it has been some time."

"Hello Mr Holliday I know this is unexpected but I need to talk to you."

His curiousity is not enough of a reason to sway him from his mission.

 _Hair of the dog is definitely needed today._

"I have an engagement elsewhere, another time perhaps."

He tries to walk past her but she blocks his path. As her mouth opens to protest he relents.

"You are welcome to accompany me if it is that urgent. We can chat on the way."

"I need to talk in private" she says as she grabs the edge of his sleeve, "Please Henry."

He shouldn't help her. Instead he should go to Wynonna. It is nearly impossible to procure alcohol on the ship but he has connections. He had drank his last bottle yesterday but Wynonna is a good option given that her resourcefulness rivals his. Unfortunately the woman standing in front of him had always been incredibly stubborn and he doubts that has changed.

"I suppose I can do a favour for an old friend." He draws out the word 'friend' sarcastically so that she notices." Please come in" he says as his right arm sweeps dramatically through the air.

When the door closes behind them he asks "Now what has you turning to me of all people?"

"I know I shouldn't have left things between us the way I did."

A non committal grunt is his only reply. He understood why she reacted the way she did, screaming like a banshee and throwing objects at his head. It was easier to share the blame with him, someone she had already disliked. That doesn't mean he has to make her feel better.

"This...it's about Jake."

"Continue."

"Do you remember the fault Jake found with the oxygen supply?"

"I recall that's what got him killed." He chooses his words carefully but he cannot stop his teeth from softly grinding on them as they leave his mouth.

"You have to understand there was nothing I could do to...I tried to talk to Jaha, change his mind." She pauses, sighing bleakly. "Then he had Clarke locked up and I just couldn't deal with it all. You were an easy target to lash out at. I'm sorry Henry."

He places his thumb and forefinger under his nose and spreads them outwards slowly, pressing down as if to iron his mustache. He repeats the motion a second time.

"You had lost your husband."

"And you had lost a good friend."

It stings to hear her say this considering that she had always acted as if Doc wasn't good enough for Jake, had implied that he wasn't smart enough to be a doctor or engineer or any other important job.

 _Just a dentist._

A bitterness takes over casing him to echo words that she had said in the past."I thought I was a bad influence?"

"You were. But you also made him happy."

"Doctor Griffin I do believe that's the biggest compliment you have ever given me." He flashes her a rue smile which she returns. He wonders about the other woman who bore a similar smile and if the rumours are true.

"How is that delightful daughter of yours?"

If he'd slapped her she would look less hurt.

"I don't know. She's on earth - you have heard about the dropship?" He nods in answer to her question."I didn't want her to go but Marcus he...it doesn't matter now." She gives a minute shake of her head as if to add weight to her words.

"I need that recording, Jake's recording."

Something Doc had encouraged Jake to make. He connects the dots easy enough.

"You'll be floated Abby."

"Oh they've tried."

That's a story he looks forward to hearing about at a later stage.

She juts out her chin and straightens up her back. It's a show of confidence but he's not sure if it's for him or for herself.

"I can't expect people to risk their lives and not do the same. I can't let three hundred and twenty people people be murdered for no reason." She sees his perplexed expression and gives him a short explanation. "It's the council's solution to the oxygen issue. Reduce the population - but they don't need to. Earth is survivable. I just need some time to prove it. This is a lot to spring on you but I had to act fast. It's too late for Jake but I can get his message out there. They deserve to know. "

All he had wanted was a quiet day but his ghosts will not let him walk away from this woman. Voices whisper in his head, ones that he usually tries to avoid by drinking and sleeping away as much of his days as possible. He knows that he won't be left alone until he helps Abby complete her task.

"What's the plan then darling?"


	12. Chapter 12

Raven had visited her several times. Clarke had done so only once, more for a check up than anything else. The rest of her time is spent alone. She supposes she should count herself lucky that nothing worse had happened. It hadn't gone down well with everyone but it had placated most of them. Maybe she should, but she doesn't blame them for reacting towards her the way they did. The Arks strict regime had them locked up for mostly petty crimes, curtailing their freedom. To top it all off the council had gambled with their lives, children, without giving them a choice. It would piss anyone off. She had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, an easy target to vent their anger at. When the crowd had gathered outside that tent that first day, there had been a couple of shouts to kill her. Bellamy had countered, proposing that imprisoning her would be a much more fitting punishment for her crimes. Cheers had greeted his suggestion, the crowd chanting "lock her up". Nicole had felt so vulnerable in those moments. Raven had tried to keep her spirits high by telling her exactly what she thought of those outside. She had started by calling the mob "stupid kids" and Bellamy "Jaha 2.0" and her insults had only gotten more inventive from there. It had kept her from hearing exactly what was being said outside of the tent but she knows they hadn't specified the length of her 'prison term'. As soon as the crowd had dispersed Clarke had brought her up to the third floor of the Ark, the others leaving to search for the radio Bellamy has tossed.

After Clarke had apologised to her, she had told her that Bellamy had her safety in mind when he had spoken to the group. That his idea was to give them time to get used to her and to let them feel like they're being vindicated. She wonders if Bellamy actually said all that or if Clarke was trying to make her feel better. Even if he had said something along those lines, she figures he had only said it to placate Clarke. Bellamy aside, she does sympathise more with the hundred since she's been locked up. She knows now what it's like to be trapped in a confined space, though she has more room to live in then they had. It's only been about a day and a half but she's already feeling a little less than sane, enough that she has played multiple games of eye spy with herself. There's nothing to do except sleep but that's been hard to come by.

 _Waverly had spent so many years like this without going mad. At least she had something to read._

The impulse to smile at the image of the first time she saw Waverly fades. It hurts to think about her. To think about how she looked at her, eyes filled with a wild violence and an expression of wounded resentment. A destructive force voicing her feelings of betrayal and hurling bitter insults. Some of her accusations had been warranted. Nicole had been naive to think Waverly would have welcomed her with open arms after keeping the truth from her, but the depth of Waverly's fury had seemed a bit excessive. Maybe Nicole is just trying to find excuses to ease her own guilt. The fact that Waverly is alive brings her some comfort.

 _"I could have died...Did I mean so little to you?"_

The words burn and bite her. Words that haven't left her from the moment they escaped from Waverly's lovely mouth. They live on buried deep under her skin, entwined with the heavy guilt that already exists inside her. She lets her head fall into her hands and asks herself for what is probably the hundredth time what she can do to make it up to Waverly.

 _If she lets me._

Nicole allows herself a moment to remember how good Waverly had looked. The ground suited her. She had been full of energy, vibrant. The sun had brightened her skin, expelling the paleness. Her hair had been loose and had looked so silky. She had looked even more beautiful than on the Ark, even with the anger that had fired out of her. Waverly's dislike of covering her stomach hadn't changed, the smooth expanse of skin on display, inviting her to imagine how soft it would be to run her fingers over it.

A resounding crack sounds in the distance, making her jerk in surprise. Five seconds later it's followed by noise she hasn't heard before.

 _What the fuck was that... Grounders?_

It sounded somewhat similar to the metal drums they had played with on the Ark, blended with the roar of the explosions she had heard in the pod. It vibrates through the very floor she's sitting on. If it's a weapon it had to be a big one.

There's another louder boom, closer to the ship. Like the last time it's followed by the same rambling, rumbling sound but louder, as if hundreds of rocks are smashing and sliding off each other. She speculates on what sort of weapon could cause such a racket. Raven had told her about the grounders, mentioning they had nearly killed some Jasper kid. It sounds crazy that there's people already on earth, people who's ancestors had survived the nuclear apocalypse. Although judging by their actions so far, the Grounders don't want them here. She figures that worse is still to come.

 _Not that I can help in here._

Her feelings of uselessness return. She's exhausted, haunted by her failures and scared of what her future held. She had taken on responsibilities that now lie lifeless and incomplete. Three hundred and twenty lives lost so far, their plan foiled by a scared moron and one broken radio. Raven had told her there is a chance of fixing it but hadn't filled her in on an actual plan yet.

It seems an age since she had interrupted Raven and Abbey's conversation on the Ark. Raven had been abrasive the first time they'd met, portraying herself as tough and cocky. Subsequently Raven had shown herself to be loyal, kind, supportive and just generally fun to be with. She's the only one who cares enough to bring her water or food. She also the only one who escorts her outside so she doesn't have to piss in the cracked bucket that currently sits in the corner opposite her. There had been some opposition to the trips but Raven had berated them into allowing it.

Nicole freezes as soft taps begin from outside of the ship. They increase in number as the seconds roll past, enough that they are no longer audible as singular taps. Instead it's a muted pattering draping over the walls and roof of the room she's in. It develops into a rhythmic pounding, as though there are many people outside hammering lightly at the hull. It's not the only sound coming from the exterior. Subdued shouts are discernible and the curiously soothing rhythms change as a strong wind howls. She hears another crack and the accompanying crashing and clattering a few seconds later. She wonders again what exactly is going on outside, sighing to herself. Deciding to convert her nervous energy into something constructive, she gets onto the floor, counting her press ups out loud. She barely gets to twenty when her stomach growls in protest. It's hard to hear it over the noise but she can feel it. Raven hasn't visited in several hours. She wonders if the sounds outside have anything to do with it. She hopes they're all okay.

 _Especially Waverly._

When she had told her to fuck off, Nicole could hardly believe it. Once, Waverly had used frick in front of her after knocking over a glass. It had been adorable and about as close as she got to the word 'fuck'. It indicates how big the rift is between them now. She misses that flirting, playful banter between them. Who knew if they could get back to it. She would settle for anything right now, any sort of friendship with her. She doesn't think she's ever wanted something so badly, this profound need for Waverly to forgive her, to not hate her. She knows that it's absurd but really everything in her life right now is fairly absurd.

The way she had looked at her it had left no room for forgiveness. It's such a contrast, Waverly on the Ark and Waverly on the ground. Her thoughts keep returning to Waverly, it's like she wants to punish herself, give Waverly her retribution. Or maybe she's just bored. Either way it's only going to speed up a descent into depression so she tries to turn her focus to anything else, wishing for someone to open the hatch. Every way her mind turns it finds only negative matter. Her usual confidence is deserting her leaving in it's place a quiet desperation. She clings to the one bright spot in her life, Raven. Their friendship is in their early days but she's the only person Nicole can rely on, and she's honest. Nicole remembers times when Raven would be better saying a lot less, there is such a thing as too much truth. The lack of tact aside, she prefers someone who says things to her face rather than behind her back. She is the source of all Nicole's information whether it's about the grounders or the camp. Raven had tried to broach the subject of Waverly with Nicole but she didn't know what to say. Instead she had turned the questions on Raven, asking her about Finn. When Raven had confided in her about him acting weird, Nicole had listened carefully, agreeing with Raven even though she doesn't really know Finn and has no clue if he is acting strange. Raven had told her that she would see what she meant when she got out of this "shithole". She had tried to comfort Nicole saying she'd be out of here in no time "Less than a week, two max." Two weeks in here and she'll go mad. She would prefer Raven's puns to this.

Thud!

Her eyes snap to the hatch as it flips back and she hopes it's Raven. Jumping up she watches as a soaked Bellamy is followed by four lads dragging a tall, limp, bound body between them.

"What's going on?"

One of the them gives her a cheeky answer."You're going to be sharing your cell from now on inmate." He's a small blond kid, with whom she's had dealings with before. The skybox wasn't one of her usual positions but she had completed a two week rotation as part of her training. She remembers this guy as he had not been the easiest to deal with.

 _Is his name Drew?_

She finally gets a clear view of the figure they had been carrying. Its's a man who's covered in tattoos, dirt and blood. He's definitely not one of the hundred.

 _A grounder?_

Another loud crack outside prompts her to ask "What the hell is that outside?" They laugh at her while Bellamy smiles wryly.

"It's just a storm."

They were taught about storms and weather on the Ark but she had never thought she'd experience such events. Of course she had imagined what it would be like on earth when she was a kid, everyone had. She wishes she could be outside to watch the spectacle. The boys are surrounding the grounder, three ready in case he woke up and one cutting through his restraints. Curiousity laced with dread prompts her to walks closer to Bellamy who's watching the operation shrewdly and ask him "Have you thought whatever this is through?"

"This is none of your business."

"Well since you've brought this 'business' in here, it's going to be very hard for me to not be involved. Since you won't let me leave and all."

The blonde lackey hands Bellamy back the knife he'd borrowed, sneering at Nicole. When there's no response from Bellamy she gives it another try.

"I'm going to hear everything anyway."

The blond kid snaps, stalking the few steps it takes to reach Nicole and getting in her face. "You heard the man, shut the fuck up."

"Just because I'm in here doesn't mean I have to listen to shit heads like you."

"Leave it out Drew" Bellamy warns him, proving her guess of his name right.

"But she's being disrespectful towards us."

She sees the moment Drew realises just how much she towers over him and how she's not afraid in the slightest. He must have been used to people who took his threats seriously.

"Go on then" she goads him. It's too late for him to pretend he's backing down to appease Bellamy but he tries anyway. "Fine Bellamy."

"Tie him tighter. The last thing we need is this bastard getting free because you screwed up." As the words leave Bellamy's mouth, the hatch opens again, a figure climbing in, only her back and long black hair visible to Nicole.

"Octavia, get out of here."

Octavia Blake, the girl who lived under the floor. There wasn't a soul on the Ark who hadn't heard the story. Octavia and Bellamy don't look as if they are one big happy family, beginning to fiercely exchange words.

"I told you he was protecting me. You didn't have to do this. "

"This isn't about you. I'm doing this for all of us."

Nicole has no idea what's going on and shifts her concentration to her surroundings, taking in small details. Octavia's cuts on her head and face. Bellamy's clenched jaw, a vein in his neck throbbing. The boredom on one of the boys faces. The man tied up behind Bellamy and Octavia who's watching them intently. More often that not his gaze falls on Octavia. He looks worried, which is only natural given his situation.

"You don't know that! We need to know what we're up against. How many there are and why they're killing us. And he's gonna tell us right now. "

 _Killing us?_

"No, Bellamy, please." Octavia grabs his hand pleading with him but he brushes her off and with a wave of of his hand beckons to his soldiers. There's that look in Bellamy's eyes again, the one that she couldn't decipher in the forest. She thinks now that it's a mix of raw pain and dismal anger.

"Miller, get her out of here."

Bellamy walks towards the prisoner while Miller and Drew grab Octavia.

"I was there! I - Hey, get get off of me!" Before Nicole has a chance to interfere, Octavia has pushed the two boys off and has begun to walk away. She turns back to Bellamy to utter a final attempt to stop him. Nicole sees the grounder's head move so his vision of Octavia is not restricted.

"I don't even think he speaks English. He won't understand you."

Bellamy doesn't bother to turn to acknowledge Octavia. Instead he takes a step to the tied up figure and says "Oh, I think he will."

There's a long moment of silence before Bellamy asks his first question.

"What's your name?"

He tries another.

"Where's your camp?"

A longer pause this time.

"How many of you are there?"

When this question goes unanswered, Bellamy strikes him in the face.

"Woah there! You can't do that, he can't even defend himself."

Fairness and doing the right thing were two concepts Nicole had grown up with, her dad instilling them in her. He always said that people are innocent until proven guilty. As she walks closer to the man she can see new blood on his face, dripping off his chin.

"Shut up and sit down or we'll tie you up too." Bellamy is glaring at her but she's not that easily put off. "I'm trying to keep you out of trouble" he says in a lower voice so the others can't hear.

"This is you helping me? I'd hate to see what your idea of not helping me is."

He changes tactic at her fiery reply. "His people have already killed some of our people. Maybe you don't care because they're criminals, but down here we look after our own." Why he thinks being even more a dick is going to change her mind is a mystery to her.

"I'm not going to stand by while you torture the guy."


	13. Chapter 13

"He's not a guy hes a grounder."

They could be starting a war with their actions for all they know.

"You don't know what you're dealing with Bellamy. Does Clarke know you're doing this?" She knows bringing Clarke into it will make it go one of two ways.

He motions to the others.

"Tie her up."

 _Damn it._

Two of them move grab her quickly, clamping hands and she roughly rips her arms out of their grasp.

"If you think you -"

The rest of her sentence is lost as she struggles against all four boys.

"Try not to hurt her she's one of ours" Bellamy orders. He stands there watching as if he is refereeing the fight. She gets an arm free, lashing out with her fist. It's Drew who rears back in pain.

"You little bitch."

"Then keep your fucking hands off me."

It's not a fair match and they swiftly gain the upper hand, holding her in place as they wrap the cord Bellamy gives them securely around her wrists. As she's yanked backwards to tie her to something on the wall behind her, she becomes aware that it's not just the arkers watching her. The grounder's gaze is on her and it's not filled the same hatred that it holds for Bellamy. His brow is furrowed and his eyes are full of somber shadows. When he notices he has been caught he quickly glances away and she returns her focus to the others. Drew is smiling smugly at her.

"Not so Haught now."

It's not said in the same manner as Raven. It's harsher, meant to put her down instead of to mildly irritate her. He's unaware of what she's gone through before this final stripping of power and doesn't realise that he is provoking someone who's fed up of the animosity directed towards her her, whose anger that is enhanced by a bitter guilt over her own actions. She jerks quickly towards him, pulling her restraints as far as they would go, making him jump.

"Still scared of me even tied up. You're pathetic." She knows it's childish but it's a small victory, something she can actually control.

"Do we have to gag you too?" Bellamy interjects.

Her jaw is tight as she glares at him. Bellamy gives as good as he gets, glowering back at her. She finally concedes shaking her head.

"Good."

He turns his back, having dealt with the interruption to his plans.

"Who are you?"

When Bellamy doesn't get the answer he wants, he punches his captive in the stomach.

"Stop it!"

It's an involuntary reaction, she had actually planned on keeping quiet for a bit, knowing Bellamy had made good on his threats so far.

"Really? Miller gag her."

"Gladly."

There's a loud bang against the ship and they all turn towards the sound. It causes some dirt or dust to fall from the outer wall, Nicole can't tell which.

"What was that?"

"Never mind that just make her stay quiet."

Miller rips off a strip of material from a thin blanket Raven had brought her the first night. Nicole fixes Bellamy with an icy glare while Miller wraps the fabric over her mouth and ties it at the back of her head. He doesn't tie it very tight, not that she'd thank him even if she could. As he circles around to her front it feels like she's back in the pod with Raven for a split second. There's an impossibly loud bang, the dropship shaking with it's force. Everyone topples, objects crashing to the floor with them. Screams sound from below them. Her wrists burn as she falls awkwardly onto her knees, the cord stretching, pulling at her arms. Cursing intelligibly through the fabric she hauls herself into a more comfortable position.

When the others have recovered they dive into a discussion about whether or not the incident had been an attack on the ship. She hopes that whatever it is it will distract them from their brutal intentions. It's not long before Drew climbs back through the hatch and Bellamy asks him the questions that are on everyone's minds.

"What the hell was that? Are we under attack or not?"

"Storm damage. We're okay. "

She frowns to herself, dreading the inevitable return to Bellamy beating up the grounder. He starts repeating his questions while Miller looks through the grounders bag and Drew searches through a box. She winces when the grounder takes a hit. Fortunately he doesn't receive another because Miller calls Bellamy over. Nicole can just about see the leather bound book in Bellamy's hands from where she stands. He begins to untangle the bindings but stops when his attention piqued by the grounder struggling at his restraints.

"Think we found something he doesn't want us to see, Miller."

He opens it, examining the drawings, flipping through the pages. "These aren't bad." When he finds a sketch of a dark haired woman, he stops to look at the captive man. Nicole squints at the picture realising it's Octavia. After a long pause he turns over pages to one bookmarked by a feather. There's a charcoal sketch on one side and a bunch of lines and stars on the other. Bellamy's next words scare her, making her look at the prisoner with new light.

"It's our camp. I'm guessing if I counted all those marks, it would add up to a hundred and three? Ten across that would be..." Bellamy trails off and stands up, moving in the direction of the prisoner. "That's how many people we've lost. They've been watching us ever since we got here."

Nicole sucks in a breath.

 _A hundred and three. They even know about me and Raven. What are they planning to do? WHo have they killed?_

She's lost in her thoughts when Clarke's head comes up the hatch. Drew stands over her and Clarke snarls at him "Get the hell out of my way."

"It's okay. Let her through" Bellamy authorising her entrance. Clarke's mood doesn't improve when she sees the state the grounder is in.

"Well, if he didn't hate us before, he does now."

"Who cares?" Bellamy asks as he pulls her by the arm away from the prisoner, "How's Finn?"

"Alive. His people will care. Oc- How long until they figure out where he is? And what happens when they do? I mean, when they come looking for him? They will, Bellamy."

 _Finn is hurt?_

It doesn't excuse the violence but it makes more sense now, Bellamy's desire to hurt the man.

"Relax, princess. No one saw us take him. He was chained up in that cave the entire time, and thanks to the storm, we didn't see a soul on the way back."

When there's another thud against the hull of the ship, Clarke looks around and sees Nicole for the first time.

"Bellamy what the hell?"

She strides over to Nicole as Bellamy replies "She was causing trouble, trying to stop us from getting information from the grounder." His face twists is in distaste. "It had to be done."

"Are you alright Nicole?" Clarke asks her as she slides the gag off Nicole's mouth.

"I'm fine, is Raven okay?"

"She's worried for Finn" Clarke replies as she turns back to Bellamy. "Untie her. You didn't have to force her to sit though this. She can wait downstairs with the others."

"She's supposed to be a prisoner."

"We're all trapped in this ship for the time being. Does it really matter what floor she's on?"

Bellamy nods to Miller and Drew before looking back to Clarke.

"Okay." He hands her the sketchbook. "In case you missed it, his people are already killing us. How many more of our people need to die until you realize we're fighting a war? "

"We're not soldiers, Bellamy. Look at him. We can't win."

"You're right. We can't win. If we don't fight."

While Clarke and Bellamy trade intense stares, Nicole feels Miller working at releasing the cord, each rotation loosening her stiff and raw wrists. Drew stands far enough away from her that she could not reach him even if she hadn't been restrained. She hears Raven calling for Clarke in the distance "He's seizing!" Nicole knows she means Finn from her distressed tone. Clarke shouts in reply as she scrambles down the ladder. When Miller pulls the last of the cord away, Nicole brings her arms in front of her rubbing the tender skin on her wrists. The hatch has been closed again but Nicole knows Bellamy or his accomplices won't stop her from leaving. Even though the grounder harmed Finn enough to have Raven upset and has been spying on them she can't help feeling guilty about leaving him to be tortured. As if she didn't have enough on her conscience already. Bellamy begins to interrogate the grounder again, his questions unaltered. She watches the grounder for a few more moments before sighing to herself and walking over to the hatch. She rears back slightly at the boisterous knocking from the other side. It's accompanied by Clarke shouting "Hey! Open the door!" She obeys, stepping back to allow Clarke and Octavia to climb into the the room. Clarke marches past Nicole up to the grounder producing a knife that she waves in front of him.

"What's on this?"

"What are you talking about?" Bellamy asks from behind Clarke.

"He poisoned the blade." Clarke keeps her attention on the grounder while she answers Bellamy. Nicole puts her feet on the ladder, Clarke's words making her want to leave all the faster. This new information will only cause Bellamy to intensify his treatment of the grounder.

"All this time, you knew Finn was gonna die no matter what we did." Clarke's shouts follow her as she leaves the floor.

"What is it? Is there an antidote?"

She hears Octavia say "Clarke, he doesn't understand-" before she's cut off, the door closing above her. When her feet touch the floor she looks around, faces turning towards her. Her courage flickering, she takes a deep breath to steady her nerves before walking casually away from the ladder. Her plan is to find Raven and Finn, wanting to help them if she can. Some of her anxiety slips away as she realises how good it is to be out of that room but it doesn't leave her completely. The real problem as she explores the rooms, aren't the malevont eyes following her or the offensive remarks said behind hands, it's the fear that she'll meet Waverly. Her day hasn't exactly gone well so far and she doesn't know if she could take another verbal beating from Waverly. She finds a secluded spot needing a break from the stares and comments.

 _Maybe this wasn't the best idea._

She spends a couple of minutes letting her attention wander. Laughter pours from a doorway into a room that she hasn't checked yet. She leaves the safety of her hiding spot to get a better view. There's about fifteen people in the room but one particular mixed group of six catches her eye. Her eyes widen when she realises Waverly is one of them. Her smile is the brightest in the room. It's bewitching, reminding Nicole of all the smiles she used to receive before they left the Ark. The guy beside Waverly wraps his arm around Waverly's shoulder pulling her closer to him. Nicole's brow furrows as Waverly gives him a flirtatious wink. Nicole tells herself that's he's just a friend and she almost believes it until he leans his head down to kiss her. It's torturous to watch and Nicole whips her head back, spinning around to rest her back against the wall feeling flushed, her whole body tense. She feels all the more devastated by how happy Waverly had looked. She leaves, terrified they might stumble across her. Ducking into a dark corner, she hides out where the hatch is visible in case she needs a quick escape. Whatever is happening upstairs had to be easier to go through than running into Waverly with her...whatever he is. At the very least it would distract her. She hears Raven and looks up to see her racing up the ladder.

"What's taking so long?..." Raven's voice disappearing with her body. Nicole gives the area around her a quick check before following. Clarke is talking to Raven as she pops up through the hatch.

"He won't tell us anything."

"Want to bet?"

Bellamy raises a quizzical eyebrow at Nicole's entrance into the room but the others ignore her, focusing on Raven as she rips two cables out of some machine. When she touches the ends off each other, they sizzle, sparks flying. Nicole speaks up before anyone else has the chance.

"Raven what are you doing?"

"Showing him something new." She walks towards the grounder continuing to spark the cables off each other. The captive looks much worse than earlier. There are deep lacerations at the side of his stomach below his ribs, blood leaking from a metal spike imbedded in his right hand and his left eye is in a really bad condition, not to mention an array of bruises and smaller cuts across his body.

"You don't have to do this."

"He's all I have Nicole" she replies with words she had said before, when it was just the two of them. Raven had asked if her anyone would be worried about her disappearing off the Ark. Nicole's answer had been short, not wanting to think about it. She had posed the same question back to Raven who had dodged answering it, getting snarky instead. Nicole had changed the subject realising how sensitive Raven was to the topic. Five minutes later, Raven had surrendered her answer. Nicole reminds herself of it now as Raven is about to launch the cables into the man's torso.

 _Finn is her family._

The cables crackle when they touch skin and Nicole shudders, not wanting to see the violence or this dark and desperate side of Raven. So she stands there, shoulders hunched and knuckles white, refusing to look at it. Everyone else's eyes are on the spectacle, some with sympathy, others in a sickening fascination, lights flickering to make the scene all the more harrowing. Octavia looks in pain, her hand over her mouth. Although she won't watch his suffering, Nicole can't prevent herself from hearing the shouts of agony the man let out and the buzzing of the electricity. She wishes in that moment to be back on the Ark instead of surrounded by this hardened group, even though she knows how selfish that knows it's selfish, but she can't help it.

Raven half screams and half sobs "He's all I have!" at the grounder. Although Nicole had resolved not to, she can't help but look at her friend, her heart breaking to see such anguish in her features. It's Octavia who stops Raven from electrocuting the grounder a third time shouting "No more!" at Raven.

"He's letting Finn die" Raven fires back at her, her tears streaming down her cheeks. Octavia takes the knife she must have picked off the ground and slices into her own arm. Bellamy lets out a protest but it's too late.

"He won't let me die" Octavia says as she stares at the grounder, blood seeping from her wound.

"Octavia, what the hell did you -" Bellamy tries to grab Octavia as she walks past and it's her turn to brush him off before kneeling in front of the grounder. She's pointing at something on the ground with her knife and Nicole takes a step to the side so she can see what it is.

"This one?...This one?" Octavia asks, tapping the knife impatiently at different small vials, filled with what looks like different plants and liquids. One of them must be the antidote to the poison. The grounder gives the smallest tilt of the chin when Octavia points to a particular vial.

"Good."

Octavia holds the vial up to the man. When he gives a hesitant nod, Octavia hands it off to Clarke who thanks her. She makes a speedy exit, Raven in tow. It's interesting that it wasn't torture that broke him but the girl who's been defending him since the beginning. He was willing to let Finn die but not Octavia. He's either going against his people's wishes or they are not as savage as they had thought.

"Don't touch me" Octavia spits at her brother before stomping off. They all leave soon after, Octavia ahead of the others, obviously not wanting Bellamy near her. Nicole is left alone with the grounder. She approaches him wanting to see how he fares, with a mind to help ease his pain. The worst of it is due to the fact they left a spike in his hand. She has a basic training in first aid, all the guards on the Ark had but she's never had to deal with anything this bad. She knows she's not meant to pull it out, she's supposed to wait for someone with actual medical expertise. As far as she know there's only one person who has that down here and she's currently busy with another casualty. She rips some lengths of fabric from the same blanket Miller had used. Grabbing her container of water she approaches the man cautiously. He watches her every movement, dark eyes wary.

"I'm not going to hurt you" she promises as their eyes meet. "I'm sorry...I couldn't stop it. Really I am. I know that's hard to believe. I'd have a hard time if I was in your shoes." She shakes her head at herself, feeling a bit foolish for speaking to him when he doesn't understand her language.

"I'm going to pull that out of your hand and wrap it up" she tells him as she mimics pulling out the spike of metal to help signal her intention. She slowly moves her hands towards his impaled one. Pausing, her eyes flick back up to his, her voice soft as she confesses "Actually I lied about hurting you. This will hurt, sorry."

She concentrates on his hand again, readying herself with a deep breath before removing it as swiftly as she can. His grunts of pain cause her to ask him if he is alright. Surprise flashes across his face before it turns distrustful again.

"You're not the only one with problems buddy. It's been a pretty shit day all round."

She dunks one of her rags with more force than necessary and then squeezes some of the excess water back into the container. He flinches when she brings it up to his still bleeding hand.

"I need to clean this. You could get an infection." Her words don't change his expression of animosity. Why should they? When she brings the rag closer to him he curls his bloody fingers into a fist preventing her from reaching the wound and causing fresh blood to seep out. She does not want to fail at another task.

"Come on now, you're not-"

The familiar sound of someone entering the room interrupts her one sided conversation. She turns and is relieved to find Octavia climbing up the ladder. It's clear from the grounder's behaviour today who his favourite person is.

"Hey Octavia, I don't think we've properly met. I'm Nicole. " She introduces herself as she hands the dripping rag to her. Octavia looks down at her now wet and occupied hand. " I was going to clean it and wrap it up but he won't let me. The big guy seems to like you so maybe he'll cooperate." Nicole doesn't give her a chance to refuse, walking away to find a spot as far away from them as possible to allow them some privacy even though Octavia did not ask for it. Octavia takes advantage, her unintelligible whispers floating over to where Nicole sits. She thinks she sees the man's lips move but she cannot be certain. Nicole leans her head back against the wall, closing her eyes. She shouldn't have wished away her boredom. 

If anyone wants to check out my other fic and other art, I'm just newly on tumblr as Ideasandreams


	14. Chapter 14

She's been warned not to go near the grounder with threats that it would make things worse for both of them. Nicole complies only while the others are present, but when they're not, she offers him water and attempts at conversation. He has never replied but there were little signs that he understood, barely noticeable but there nonetheless. He was obviously practiced at concealing his emotions, very good at it really, except for a very brief moment of true reaction, facade cracking before it contracted back to a blank and dark expression again. Nicole had scant entertainment in her prison and had spent much of her time studying the restrained man. She doesn't trust this grounder, but she can relate to him - an outsider, doing what he thinks is best for his people. Of course the grounders would distrust a group of people who fell from the sky. People who had claimed land that they had left behind almost a hundred years ago.

 _No wonder they sent a spy. A spy called Lincoln._

His name was a bigger surprise then the recent discovery that he spoke English.

 _I was expecting something more...exotic?_

Nicole sees the spy tense as Miller starts towards him, but his current warden is only stretching out his stiff muscles. At least he didn't pace like some of the others. Nicole preferred no guards at all but that was seldom the case. When they're alone Lincoln becomes more relaxed, his eyes lose some of their severity and he allows himself small shows of vulnerability. Pained sighs and low groans slip out whenever he tries to stretch or move to a less uncomfortable position.

Octavia returns, this time offering Miller some food as a peace offering, apologising for coming up earlier. It irritates Nicole, whose stomach growls, that Octavia doesn't bring enough for both of them. Miller hadn't exactly been nice to Octavia while Nicole had kept quiet about her visits to Lincoln. It's all a little suspicious and Lincoln's eyes narrow confirming her opinion. Octavia is quickly kicked out leaving the three of them in the familiar excessive silence once more. Lincoln's torture had all but ceased since he had revealed Finn's antidote and while she welcomes it and the fact that their prison guards' anger has cooled into a general resentment, she is so bored. Wishing for Raven to visit again, she ponders over the woman's last visit. She had seemed a fainter but rougher version of herself. Finn is doing better which she was glad to hear but Nicole was more concerned about Raven's behaviour. When she had pushed Raven on Finn, her defensive walls had shot up, armed with verbal weapons that attacked Nicole, harshly questioning her 'deal' with Waverly. The mood didn't get any better with a topic change to camp life, leading only to Raven telling her about Wells, Charlotte's and the others deaths. The one good thing to come out of the rest of the conversation was finding out that they had contacted the Ark. She had been really happy at first, but after having too much time to think about it, she worries that it's not a great development for her. Jaha would have a lot to say about Nicole's part in sending the pod to earth.

 _Will I get away with a demotion, or will I be discharged from the Guard?_

She fears worse.

Nicole turns her attention back to something constructive, picking up the needle and thread to work on the rips in her trousers. She wasn't any good at sowing, tending to prick her fingers again and again. It's a better way to pass time than allowing that disheartening shift back to analysing past events, to wanting to change what she could not.

Bellamy's second in command begins to hum a low haunting tune. It's not something he's done before, and Nicole looks up from her seated position. He stares at his left hand as if it isn't his, flipping it slowly for several minutes. Behind him, Lincoln shifts his weight, the noise causing Miller to jump in surprise. When his head swivels, he releases a high pitched scream before running to the exit. Nicole drags her gaze from where Miller had disappeared up to the grounders surprised figure and a laugh bursts from her lips. A hint of a smile passes over Lincoln's face, followed by a brief but slower than usual struggle to mask it.

Octavia comes through the hatch, hastily dumping a pile of clothing onto the ground. Movements brisk and scattered, her first endeavour into cutting the restraints is careless and causes the usually stoic Lincoln to bellow. Octavia pauses to allow Lincoln relief and her hands to steady while saying "We need to go...now."

Nicole blinks away the shock asking "Octavia what are you doing?"

Octavia ignores her question and instead steadies Lincoln as he staggers, his unused muscles slow to move. His eyes meet hers and he echoes Nicole's question.

"Just get dressed" Octavia answers avoiding his eyes as she helps him to put on a red hoody.

"They'll know you helped me" Lincoln points out before he shouts in pain as she pulls a sleeve over his arm.

"You said it... you stay here, you'll die. I'm not gonna let that happen."

As they argue Nicole figures out her next move. She's not sure if Octavia's plan of freeing Lincoln is a good idea. Holding the grounder captive is possibly the only reason why the grounders hadn't attacked the camp yet...and assisting Octavia would certainly not help her popularity. On the other hand Lincoln had been punished enough and Octavia is one of a few people on whom she might be able to rely on down. Old advice surfaces in her mind, to go with her gut if uncertain of a decision.

"People are seeing plenty of things right now. Nicole give me a hand."

Octavia's verbal encouragements and Lincoln's grunting continue as Nicole moves to Lincoln's free side and they lift him to his feet. At Octavia's directions, they move toward the hatch.

"What did you do?" Nicole asks Octavia, Lincoln interest peaked too.

"Set out some of our winter rations a little early. Here" Octavia says as they reach their goal.

"Jobi nuts, the food you gave my guard, they go bad, they cause visions, but it wears off" Lincoln warns Octavia.

"Just try to get as far away as you can, okay, and try not to get yourself killed" she replies.

Lincoln spares Nicole a glance before looking to Octavia. Nicole reads that for the signal it is and gives them what privacy she can. She still feels a little awkward as they kiss but Nicole is glad for their moment of happiness, doubting they'll get the chance again.

 _Although Octavia has proven herself to be very resourceful..._

Before he leaves, Lincoln nods to Nicole, scrambling down the ladder as quickly as he can in his condition. Octavia wakes from her daze, remembering that Nicole is still in the room, and blushes a little.

"I um..."

Nicole tries to keep a straight face but her mouth twitches in amusement

"Don't worry I'm not going to tell anyone" she says letting her off the hook.

"I owe you one."

Octavia's promise is coupled with a nod in the direction of the hatch "Come on." It's an odd little moment, the girl from under the floor offering freedom to a guard turned prisoner.

"I don't know if I should-"

"It's fine, everyone is off their faces. They won't even notice you're there."

"And leave my vip room? That's such a difficult choice." Her comical look of indecision has Octavia laughing as she lowers herself through the opening. Nicole grabs her jacket as her thoughts turn to having some sort of a wash and of the chance of getting a different top as she leaves her jail.

It's akin to a scene in a film she once watched about a mental asylum, people lurching and wobbling around the camp. Some laugh, others moan and cry, huddled on the ground. Jasper is among them, hanging on to a stick as if his life depended on it, Monty nearby talking about the moon to no one. Her view becomes obstructed by Drew stumbling towards her, hands outstretched but Octavia scares him away before he can cause any trouble. Nicole is well able to take care of herself but she is grateful for the protective act. They find a quiet corner and on the way, Octavia manages to blag herself a couple of cups of moonshine. It's not long before Nicole's stomach rumbles prompting Octavia to spring out, vowing to find food for them that isn't jobi nuts. Nicole takes a swig of the bitter liquid, grimacing at the sharp taste. Moonlight glints off the drink's bubbles drawing her in, preventing her from anticipating the small bundle of force that barrels into her. Startled, her drink sloshes loudly but most of it stays inside the cup.

"What the-" Nicole trails off as she breathes in a familiar yet altered scent. What really gets her heart pounding is the figure's face.

"Waverly" the name released without her consent, sounding more like a soft sigh than an actual word. Captivated, she returns Waverly's smile with a dreamy one of her own, lost in the moment. It's over quickly, the reality of the situation returning to Nicole and she tries to pull back but Waverly doesn't let her. Instead she tugs her closer, laying her head on Nicole's chest. Her hands slowly slide down Nicole's back before wrapping around her waist.

"You're so soft."

The end of Waverly's words evolve into a sensual purr. Between that and Waverly's now exploring hands Nicole has lost her ability to speak. Waverly doesn't notice and breaks the silence again.

"You smell like pine and vanilla"

 _The pine made sense but vanilla?_

Raven had brought her some small pine branches after Nicole's complaints about the musty smell in her room and they were meant as a joke but ironically they had helped. It breaks her out of her trance and Waverly's dilated pupils incites her to ask "You had some of the jobi nuts right?" Waverly's eager answer confirms it.

"They brought me down the rabbit hole, they were so tasty. Do you have anymore?"

"No I didn't get any."

"That's not fair."

Nicole gives a rough grin in response to Waverly's adorable pout, thoughts shifting to a more serious concern. The sentence is halfway out her mouth before she realises that maybe she doesn't need to bring it up.

"You're not mad at me?"

"No no no I don't want to be mad at anyone Nicole. I'm so happy I don't want it to end" Waverly's words rush out and around as she spins away from Nicole, head tilting up towards the sky. Nicole's pleased for a truce between them even if it's temporary.

Confidence soaring she sends Waverly a carefree smile.

"Well that suits me Earp."

"That's not my real name I just picked it out of a book.

Nicole's bewilderment amplifies as Waverly's furrowed brows turn curious and she closes the gap again. So far there had been no trace of her past shyness from the Ark or anger over Nicole's actions. Warm shivers buzz over the skin of her palms and fingers as Waverly takes Nicole's hands in hers.

"Lets have an adventure."

"You're not having enough of an adventure already?"

Waverly's smile falters and Nicole is quick to try reassure her.

"Of course I'll go on an adventure with you Waves."

Again Waverly does the unexpected, freeing her hand from Nicole's to cup her jaw. She gently strokes her cheek, provoking Nicole into an involuntary exhale, eyelids fluttering.

"Your beauty is orphic."

"Thank you?" Nicole replies uncertain of the meaning of Waverly's words, voice a few octaves lower than ordinary. Waverly is close enough to Nicole that she can feel faint tendrils of breath reaching out to the bottom her face. She swallows hard when she sees how Waverly is looking at her lips with hungry eyes full of promise, the warmth of her bare stomach passing through Nicole's top. Feeling her willpower slipping away, she reluctantly reminding herself that Waverly is high as the stars and brings up the one subject that she knows will ruin the moment.

"Where's Champ?"

It works.

"My boy man? He's no fun, not like you" Waverly flirting as she drops her hands and bows her head but not before Nicole catches a glimpse. She doesn't want to ask, doesn't want to hear about Waverly's relationship with someone else. But she does because it's Waverly and she wants to remove the tears from her eyes.

"What happened?"

"I caught him - oh it doesn't matter! I don't want to think about it right now." She shakes her head as if to dispel herself of the very thought of him. Unexpectedly Waverly's tone changes to a light and playful one as she cocks her head to the right side head and asks her to dance. Obviously Nicole agrees, one set of fingers clasping around her own and the other falling easily around her waist. They sway lazily, boots crunching lightly on what lay beneath. She allows herself to be spun around, hypnotised by Waverly's magnetic gaze. There's a little background noise from those who live with them but Waverly's feet dance to a beat that she alone can hear. Immersed in their own comfortable and intoxicating world, Nicole allows herself to imagine she's in an alternate reality. One where recent events had turned out differently.

"You're so pretty when you're happy." The comment makes her stumble over her own feet, and she lets go of Waverly to save herself from falling. Waverly launches into a fit of infectious giggles at her clumsiness and Nicole joins in. Then Waverly stops, seeing something off to the side. Whatever it is it's invisible to Nicole but it puts a frown on Waverly's face.

"I have to go."

"Go where Waves?" Trembling beads of sweat decorate Waverly's forehead and Nicole is certain that they hadn't been visible a minute ago.

"The Ark is coming down..." Waverly trails off, staring past Nicole again.

"Is this about why you were locked up on the Ark?" Nicole guesses.

Closing her eyes firmly Waverly unclenches her fists and clenches them repeatedly, murmuring under her breath. The change frightens Nicole who utters a faint but firm "Hey." Moving nearer to her, Nicole reaches for her hands, wanting only to make her feel safe. Waverly's eyes spring open as Nicole searches for the right words.

"It's okay, you're safe here."

Waverly lets go of her hands to fold her arms around Nicole, fingers tightly clinging onto her jacket. "They're not coming down yet. You've got time" Nicole murmurs down in to her ear.

Minutes later, Octavia finds them like that.

"Am I interrupting something?

This time two pairs of cheeks turn red.

"Hi Octavia, we were just-"

"I'm sure you were. Is she...?" Octavia nudges her head towards Waverly. Nicole nods to her and Octavia spares Waverly a sympathetic smile before declaring "Let's go. I left the food with Raven and Finn. They're sober but I think they're the only ones."

"Well, well look who's out enjoying the fresh air" Raven says as she waves her hand at the smoke that threatens to envelop her. Finn is sitting with a red eyed girl on the other side of the fire. Raven raises her eyebrows at Nicole when she notes Waverly behind her. Shaking her head, Nicole mouths "don't" at her and Raven smirks in reply.

"I guess you didn't have any of the Disco biscuits then?"

As she's answering Raven's question she realises that Waverly hasn't moved from her position behind Nicole.

"What's the matter Waverly?" she asks tenderly. She feels the answer mumbled into her back.

"She doesn't like me." Hot puffs of air tingle on her spine make it hard to concentrate.

She studies Raven carefully, giving herself an opportunity to collect herself.

"What did you do?"

With a dramatic hand gesture and haughty head toss Raven answers "What? I didn't do anything."

"She was being mean" the accusatory words vibrates up and down her spine. Unsure of her ability to talk she gives Raven a hard stare, the type she reserved for those that she thought were lying to her. It's Raven who breaks first admitting "Okay fine...I may have given her the evil eye a few times."

"She won't be mean anymore Waverly it's alright." Nicole hopes that no one will notice the slight creak in her voice but Raven mumbles something under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing" Raven gives her a too bright grin.

Waverly is still wary of Raven sits down on a log well out of her reach.

Raven puts her mouth close to Nicole's ear and releases a torrent of words that are cajoling at best and downright scandalous at worst. It starts with " Damn Haught, you've got it bad." and ends with "I knew you were smitten, but jesus I didn't think you were in love with her." The middle is basically just porn but with words.

"I'm not Raven."

At Raven's skeptical look she admits "It's just a little crush."

"You think the sun shines out her ass, Haught. Her hot ass."

Nicole's tries and fails to come up with any evidence to back up her claims.

"Fuck."

She knows she's grasping at straws but she weakly attempts "She has a boyfriend."

"Mmmhmm" Raven doesn't sound convinced but luckily Conor approaches them to ask Raven about broomsticks. Nicole uses the distraction to exit their conversation.

As she takes the few steps to Waverly, she sees what looks to be a naked Champ running past only a few meters behind Waverly. As she's deciding to omit that fact to Waverly, Octavia joins them, bringing a makeshift tray of meat and berries with a canteens of water. During their meal Octavia remarks to Waverly that her eyes are looking a lot more normal.

"How are you feeling?" Nicole asks.

"Still weird but in a good way."

Waverly's index finger traces an invisible pattern on her leg. Nicole doesn't want the cease-fire to end but knows it will once the drugs wore off. She might as deal with Waverly's anger while she has a couple of friends around her.

"I know you don't want to talk about it, but I just want you to know I'm sorry for being an asshole. I made a huge mistake."

Waverly's finger stops for an agonising few seconds, starting up again beginning to scratch vigorously in the one spot. Nicole is robbed of the rest of her chance to apologise when Miller yells "He's gone. The grounder is gone." Nicole feels Octavia tense up beside her as Miller continues to shout, attracting people's attention. He's interrupted by Bellamy who strides in followed by Clarke, voice booming across the camp.

"Let the grounders come."

The effect of the jobi nuts seems to have subsided for most people as they gather to hear Bellamy's speech. Waverly and Octavia wander to the back of the crowd and Nicole joins them.

"We've been afraid of them for far too long, and why? Because of their knives and spears. I don't know about you. I'm tired of being afraid." He drops the bag of guns on the ground, to shouts of approval. Clarke does the same and appeals to those gathered.

"These are weapons, okay, not toys, and we have to be prepared to give them up to the guard when the dropships come, but until then, they're gonna help keep us safe."

Bellamy adds "And there are plenty more where these came from. Tomorrow we start training, and if the grounders come, we're gonna be ready to fight."

Clarke allows the few cheers to die down before saying "There's one other person here apart from Bellamy who knows how to use these. We need to free Nicole."

Bodies twist towards Nicole, rumblings begin to spread through the crowd. Some phrases are clearer than others.

"-Not fair-"

"-probably let that grounder go-"

"-We were imprisoned for years-"

Uncivil hands shove her towards their leaders.

"only been locked up for ten minutes-"

"-not enough!-"

"-gimme a gun already-"

She had never used a proper gun, the danger of shooting bullets on a spaceship too great. Their arms training had included taking apart guns and putting them back together again, more times than she could count. The two bags of guns are near enough to identify as M4 carbine rifles. They weren't a part of the Ark's armoury but she's seen multiple pictures of them.

"She's spent three days locked up. That's enough. We can't keep blaming her for what the Ark did to us" Clarke tries to placate the opposition but it's Bellamy who really sways the crowd.

"Clarke is right. Even if some of you feel it's not enough time, she's far more useful to us out here, helping train us." He claps his hand on her shoulder and leaves it there, and it's a gesture that adds substantial power to his words.

"If she's helping us fight against the grounders then she's one of us." A begrudging cheer greets his words and she feels the beginnings of an unenthusiastic respect for him. She still doesn't trust him but she thinks she can rely on him to do what he thinks is best for the group and his sister. At least it'll be easier to be civil to him if they're going to be working side by seeks out one particular set of eyes in the crowd but they avoid her gaze.

Harder in appearance than before, they are grim and sullen matching the expression adorning Waverly's face. Her arms are crossed and hands clenched. Nicole feels their weak truce shattering into glass like shards that fall to the ground, destined to be trod upon. She lets out a thick sigh at it's demise.

 _It was nice while it lasted._


	15. Chapter 15

He whistles lightly to himself as he strolls through the ship. It's the perfect plan. His new friend would give him access to the supplies that he is seeking while the other guard is using the bathroom. A bit of light pilfering and he would have the last of the ingredients he needs to create the greatest drink that the Ark has ever seen. A distant noise reaches his ears and he stops his whistling. It's not a restricted part of the ship but depending on who those voices belonged to, he would need a damn good reason to be here. The voices get louder so he smoothly inserts himself behind the nearest metal pillar. As he does this, the brim of his hat bumps off the wall so he takes it off, holding it flat against his chest.

"-that snakey whore's daughter! You're the one who's been covering up the truth for years."

It's an accusation that seethes with rage. The two pairs of feet he can see through a wide crack in the pillar cease their movement.

"What truth? Diana I don't have time for this."

The deep voice of Jaha is easily recognisable but Doc was not sure of the other. Now he knows that the Diana is Diana Sydney, former chancellor. It's unsurprising, no one else would have the balls to speak to Jaha like that. They had been seen to disagree often, Diane winding up Jaha by acting like she is better than him. The fact that most of the Ark's people like her over Jaha doesn't help matters.

"I know about your little project, chancellor, your one hundred and one little experiments. That's where I saw the little bitch's face."

"Diana-" Jaha's annoyance is clear even if Doc could not see it.

"She's the spit of Wyatt, I am not an idiot Thelonious."

Doc recalls that Wyatt is Diana's husband. He almost exclaims out loud.

 _Well I'll be damned, no wonder she's pissed._

There's a pause before Jaha answers.

"Diana this has to stop. I know you're still in pain about Willa-"

"Don't you dare say her name again" Diana hisses at Jaha. Doc knew who Willa was. When a small child dies in an accident, news spreads to every corner of the Ark. Wynonna had never talked about Willa except on the rare occasions that she was blackout drunk. But when she had managed to procure enough alcohol to get that way, he was usually in a similar state so his memories are hazy to non existent.

"If that is what you wish Diana, but you have to give up on this obsession. Carmen is dead and gone for over a decade. You need to leave the girl alone."

"What exactly do you think I can accomplish from up here Thelonius?" she answers smugly.

Another pause. Doc imagines Jaha is glaring at Diana's smirk.

"As pleasant as this conversation has been, I have important duties to attend to elsewhere" Jaha's attempts to end their conversation. When he hears their steps begin, Doc pushes himself as far back as he can, flattening himself up against the pillar. He prays to whatever entity is listening that the two figures don't look back.

"Of course, don't let me interrupt your important duties" Diana's voice drips in sarcasm as it sails past him. When he is certain that they are gone, he puts his hat back on and readjusts himself. If Diana is to be believed Wynonna's half sister is on Earth. He starts walking at a quick pace in the opposite direction of Jaha and Diana.

 _Wynonna can wait another hour._


End file.
